Confessions of an Avatard
by Taidine
Summary: After Avatar-obsessed honors student Elizabeth Rever spots Zuko in her math class, she finds herself a more-than-willing tagalong to the Gaang as they search for a powerful bending artifact hidden somewhere in New York City.
1. Of Princes and Prodigies

_Greetings! I'm finally reposting Confessions, yay! There will be a chapter a day for the next two weeks._

_I don't remember what I had up here originally. Something about this being a dreadfully self-indulgent story featuring first-person narrative and an OC who is almost certainly a self-insert (but maybe not – you'll never know unless you know me ^_^ ). Well, that's true. But the fic also has good grammar and a plot and an ending. So you should read it anyway._

_And also review it._

_Disclaimer posted on my profile, but just in case, I don't own Avatar at all. Not even a little bit._

_~Taidine_

Chapter One : Of Princes and Prodigies

Let's start with the basics.

I'm Elizabeth Rever.

I live in Brooklyn, New York.

I'm a prodigy.

You have no idea how much it sucks to be a prodigy. It's one thing to be a genius. A genius brings something new to the table. Geniuses change the world and contribute meaningfully to society. A genius can do one thing better than anyone else in the world – or come up with something entirely new. A prodigy, on the other hand, is just an honors student. We pick things up fast, and sure, we get good grades without trying, but by the time you get to college the learning curve has leveled out and you're just younger than everyone else, with no childhood and no social life. Prodigies in the workforce? You betcha. Most employers don't even notice.

So here I am, a barely-sixteen-year-old high school senior. My parents like to talk about 'potential,' but I don't think they really get it. This is it. Fizzle. False alarm. Prodigies are a dime a dozen. I, therefore, have a right to squander whatever potential I have left in me in the way I see fit.

My poison of choice is _Avatar. The Last Airbender, _yes. Childish, yes. In my senior year especially I got a little obsessive over it. I stayed up until ungodly hours watching it on my computer. My parents weren't happy, but as long as I rolled out of bed on time and kept up my grades, who were they to quibble? I'm quite the dutiful daughter, so I can claim some indulgence. And I figured it probably wasn't doing anything worse than some damage to my vision – not such a big deal, since I wear glasses anyway. At least, I couldn't imagine how a children's show could pose a major health risk…

…until one fateful day, I spotted Zuko in my math class.

I was exhausted. I'd come off the computer at maybe two o'clock in the morning and had to be out of bed by six. I was jazzed up on _Avatar _anyway. And, in my defense, I didn't think he was Zuko right away. At first I thought he was Zen, which is the name of the boy who usually sits in that seat. Zen had a kind of Zuko-ish haircut, with the emo bangs and everything (trust me, I notice these things); but I can assure you, before that day, he did not have golden eyes. That was the first thing I spotted – odd, neh? You would think when the left half of someone's face is covered in scar tissue it would leap out at you. Maybe it was the way he turned his head, following the teacher as she walked across the room. Our math teacher had issues standing still, she always paced around the room like a caged animal while she lectured. So: she walked across the room, I was more or less looking at the back of Zen's head because he was in front of me, he turned, and a shaft of sunlight caught his eye, making it gleam a translucent gold. The profile was subtly different, too. My poor abused brain went _Zuko _and was all set to move on, being so used to seeing him at this point – but the context was all wrong, of course. Zuko does not take Ms. Clay's math class at Columbus High.

So I did a double take, but by then he had turned back to the front of the room again, because Ms. Clay was still on the move.

So maybe I stared a little longer then I should have at the back of his head. Maybe I followed him a little after math. It wasn't stalking, really, I was going more or less in the same direction. I berated myself, of course – _Liz, you're obsessed. If you're starting to see characters from that show, you may need to take a break for a while. _Problem was, the show _was_ my break, my escape. And when the boy who seemed to have replaced Zen turned to walk into his classroom, I caught a glimpse of a ruddy scar pinching his left eye. At least, I thought I did – it was a little hard to tell under the bangs.

Well, when you start seeing _Avatar _characters in math class, there's only one thing to do – go talk to a fellow Avatard about the traumatic experience. My go-to girl for all things 'tar is my good friend Katherine, and despite tailing Zuko, I managed to catch up to her before English. "Kat!"

"Hey, Liz." I'm Liz to most of my friends. Perhaps friend is a more accurate term, and by 'friend' I mean Kat. Kat is a remarkably friendly girl, you see, and very patient, one of the only people I know who will put up with me; appearance-wise she's a few inches shorter than me (to be expected), with olive skin and dark hair. She's rather delicate and feminine; I envy her for that, being tall and boyish, although I suppose my shapeless, black-clad Goth look doesn't help.

"Pinch me. I thought Zen was Zuko for a second in math today."

Kat laughed. "I think you need a break, Liz."

Not the response I had been hoping for. I decided to pursue the matter no further.

So I did a little more judicious investigative work – still not stalking – after school by standing at the entrance/exit of the building (we only have one set of doors; I blame budget cuts) and waiting for Zen to come out so I could get a good look at his face. It took him a while. I was almost ready to give up when I saw a head of shaggy black hair. His downcast eyes were flawless amber; glimpses of puckered scar tissue were visible through his bangs; and he wore and unmistakable sullen expression.

Yup.

Zuko.

So I followed him for a couple of blocks away from the school. Only then did it become stalking – although I had every intention of alerting him to my presence, so personally I think it doesn't count. He seemed to be wandering completely aimlessly, lost in his own thoughts - at least, I assume he was lost in his own thoughts, because he didn't notice me, and I don't think I'm that stealthy – until, on a relatively empty street, I finally cleared my throat and said his name.

"Zuko?"

I was pretty much wondering if he would react. Obviously if he did not, I was delusional, and should go home, unplug my computer, and call a shrink. But he reacted all right. Exploded is more like it. One second I was lingering inquisitively over the 'o;' the next pain exploded in my shoulder and I had my back pressed against a brick wall.

"Tell me what's going on!" he demanded, golden eyes ablaze.

I assessed my situation. Zuko, who was quite obviously not a figment of my imagination, was pinning me to the nearest wall with one hand planted firmly against my shoulder. His face was inches from mine, and I could faintly smell something like char or woodsmoke. You wouldn't usually think about how a cartoon character smells… "Sorry. What?" I wasn't panicking. I don't really do panic. I kind of wish I could, it looks interesting.

"You're the only person in this place who's recognized me, so _tell me what's going on._" I could feel the temperature rising several degrees; his hand pressed against my shoulder was a blaze of heat, like a too-fresh cup of coffee.

"You think I know?" I tried again. It was a comforting thought that, in-show, Zuko had never killed anyone, but I wasn't as indestructible as a cartoon character.

"Yes, I think we've established that," he said, voice rough; but there was a hint of choked uncertainty creeping into it now. Pure, authentic Zuko.

"No. No we have not. I know who you are, but not what you're doing _here._"

The next logical thing for him to have asked was _how_ the heck I knew who he was, but that didn't seem to be his intention as he released my shoulder and said softly, "You know who I am."

"Yeah…" I eyed him. "Zuko, exiled Prince of the Fire Nation, etcetera." Any good Avatard would have done the same.

"Not Zen?" He seemed rather anxious about this.

"No," I answered.

He raised one hand to his face and ran his fingers over the wrinkled skin of his scar, as if to reassure himself it was still there. "All right."

He should have been asking more – where he was. What all those tall buildings were, how the cars ran without horses to pull them. All the silly questions medieval transplants ask in stories. I was ready for those.

"Then I'm going to need somewhere to spend the night."

I wasn't ready for that one, but I responded quickly: "You can crash with me." The words were out more or less before I had thought them through. My parents don't let me have boys over, see. I don't think they would have let me have _anyone_ over on such short notice, regardless of gender. But this wasn't just a boy, and wasn't just anyone. It was Zuko. And anything touching Zuko was safely unreal, isolated in my fantasy world where I was bold and daring, unafraid to defy my parents' edicts. So as soon as Zuko nodded, accepting my offer – sure, I was a total stranger, but what else was he going to do? – I pulled out my cell phone.

"Hi, it's Elizabeth."

The phone was answered by my cousin Emma, who's nominally staying at my house while her parents are off on business. I say nominally because she doesn't actually spend much time at home. She's a Level Nine gymnast. I'm not sure exactly what that means, except that she occasionally competes and has to spend every waking hour at practice – except, apparently, the hour between three and four o'clock during which I get out of school. "Hey, Li." She has called me 'Li' since time immemorial. Apparently 'Liz' is too long for her.

"Is Mom home?" I asked.

"Yup," Emma answered laconically.

"Okay. Tell her I'm going to be home late – Envirothon meeting."

"How late?"

"Really late. Don't wait for me to eat."

That was, cutting out the fluff of 'goodbye's and pointless comments, the meat of our conversation. Envirothon was a club I had been press-ganged into years back which had notoriously late-running meetings, so I didn't think I would be extensively questioned.

Zuko was watching me. "Why are you going to be late?" His rough voice was slightly suspicious, as well it should be, I suppose.

"Because if everyone is already asleep when you walk in, you can take your pick of our couches, no questions asked."

He nodded as though this made perfect sense. It did, of course, but it felt odd, as though I had won him over far too quickly. Then again, what about this did make sense? Perhaps I had finally cracked under the stress. I'm not sure what stress, exactly, but probably your standard over-achiever honors-student-with-a-vivid imagination stress. And sleep deprivation, and deep immersion in a fantasy world.

I put away my cell phone and looked nervously up and down the street. It was getting a little less empty now – a couple of students from my school were walking up the sidewalk. One of them was Kat. That could get awkward. She could confirm I was delusional, and frankly, if I was delusional, I didn't want to know. Or she could confirm I was not delusional – I wasn't sure if that would be worse or better. "Time to find a better hangout place," I said. "I don't know who'll recognize you. Or if you want to be recognized."

"No, I don't," he said, following my gaze. "Not until I figure out what's going on."

"Right. Central Park then." Why Central Park? No particular reason. It was a big park, there were plenty of secluded places to hide from people, and I liked it. It was as god a place as any other, and better than most. So I turned and lead the way, Zuko following, prowling behind me like a cat. I focused on my book bag, which I wished hadn't been so heavy…

We had to pass through Columbus Circle on the way to the Park, which is just what it sounds like – an odd little traffic circle with an island in the middle. The island is normally a nice place to hang out. Benches, fountain, a statue in the middle with an eagle and some famous guy (probably Columbus, but you never know). Unfortunately, this made it attractive to many people besides me, which meant it was far too crowded for our purposes, full of tourists and students and skater boys (it is one of the favorite haunts of that last group). On the outside of the traffic circle are buildings and a subway station and sidewalk, separated from the street by a row of parked cars; today they were, for the most part, police cars. I wasn't too bothered by this, or the police officers hanging around outside the circle; they were a common enough sight in the city. But I did get an odd feeling we were being stared at was we cut across the circle. Zuko kept his head down, thick hair obscuring the distinctive scar, and I don't attract attention on the best days, so I chalked it up to paranoia and kept going.

We headed into the park, and the feeling didn't go away. I begin, almost unconsciously, to take evasive action, choosing onto narrower paths, looping around trees, heading into a more wooded area where we could use trees for cover.

"Don't look now," said Zuko suddenly, startling me. I had been getting used to silence. "But I think we're being followed." Not what I wanted to hear.

"We'll try to lose them," I said, hoping I sounded bold, or at least not scared. "This way." I had found an even narrower path, probably beaten by walkers and not sanctioned by park officials. We started walking more quickly. "Are they still…"

There was an odd noise behind us. I couldn't immediately place it, but obviously Zuko did. "Run!" he directed, hoarse and intense, and pushed me forward. Something shot past us, bright and hot, and I smelled smoke. Fire. Good lord…

Another jet of flame singed the trees. We came upon one of those convenient rocks that dot Central Park like breaching whales, and Zuko shoved me, hard this time; I stumbled forward and ducked behind the stone. Right, it probably wouldn't burn. He turned, extending his fist, and the fire parted around him, dissolving into air. There was a glimpse of a blue uniform, NYPD – no. No, it was red, Fire Nation infantry. I wasn't sure, the figures were blurry through the trees. They almost seemed to be both (except, of course, police can't firebend). Whoever they were, they were closing in on Zuko, using the trees for cover; he defended himself against their attacks, but couldn't get a clear shot back. I cowered behind the rock, and hated myself for it, but I could feel the heat of the flames, hear the crackling as tree branches caught fire, and I wasn't going to kid myself. There was nothing I could do.

"Stop!" called a distinctive, strident voice. I huddled a little closer to the stone and tried to subtly crane my neck around it to see what was going on on the other side.

"Azula," said Zuko, low and coarse. It sounded like an accusation.

"Oh, you caught my brother. How convenient. You look lost, Zuzu. I was afraid you and your friends might have figured things out before me, but-" She paused briefly, I imagine for an evil grin "-I guess taking the proper precautions do pay off."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko demanded, cornered and near desperation. I could just see the back of his leg, and Azula across from him, a squadron of Fire Nation troops flanking her. No, they definitely weren't police officers. "Why are you here? Why am _I _here? _What's going on?_"

Azula, of course, laughed, and shook her head ruefully. "You really just don't think, do you? Well, I'm not going to explain things, Zuzu, you should be able to work them out on your own by now. I'm not here for you anyway. Carry on with whatever you were doing before I showed up…" She waved one hand expansively, an expression of utter boredom on her face. "With that girl, whatever you did with her. She your girlfriend here?"

Zuko just kind of snarled, which is to be expected.

"Right, none of my business. If you see Mai and Ty Lee, send them my love, alright? Goodbye, brother dear. I do hope you can remember, it will make stranding you here in this backwater so much more satisfying." She gestured for her troops, smirked, and marched off into the woods, turning her back on Zuko – completely unafraid. He didn't take the opportunity, anyway, just stood there in battle stance, fists clenched, until she was gone.

I crept out from behind my rock, feeling cowardly. "Well, that was thrilling," I volunteered in a near-monotone.

"She knows," said Zuko, relaxing his hands and straightening his legs with an effort of will.

"Clearly," I agreed, fixing my bookbag.

"But if she's here… maybe there are others. Maybe someone who can help us."

And I thought: Mai, Ty Lee. Azula had mentioned them, and as of the most recent episodes, they were on our side. Or at least Zuko's side.

Guiltily, I didn't want Mai to be here.

But that brought up another question. "Zuko. Azula and her guards. Did you know they were Fire Nation?"

"I saw the uniforms, yeah. Or- not at first…" He shoved back his hair, clearly frustrated. "I wasn't sure at first. In the same way I wasn't sure who _I _was at first. I don't know."

"Right. Well, you picked them up sooner than me, so we might have to rely on you to spot anyone else who might be around."

"You saw me," he said.

To me, there was no contradiction in that. Of course I saw Zuko. I was looking for him, half-expecting to see him from the hours of burning the TV show into my brain – and his image more than anyone else's. But how does one explain that – that I was obsessed with a fictional character? It made me feel like a raving fan girl, although I sometimes felt it ran even deeper, that there might be something truly wrong with me, that no sane person would be so infatuated with a cartoon (and that he had turned up now, clearly not animated, did not absolve me). So I didn't say anything in response, merely shrugged and changed the subject. "I think we should follow Azula. She's our only real lead."

"Okay – you know how to track?" he asked sarcastically.

I probably deserved that one. "Of course not. We can search the park, though."

"She wouldn't stick around," said Zuko darkly.

Okay, so he was right. We wandered around the park to utterly no avail, hardly speaking, until I decided it was late enough to go home.


	2. Of History and Hairstyles

_I would apologize for missing a day, except I'm not hubristic enough to expect dedicated fans on my first chapter, so it's quite likely nobody cares and I am absolved. At any rate, another chapter goes up tonight, just to keep neatly on schedule. I admit I'm a bit surprised there are still so many Avatar fics being posted, what with the fact that the show's over an all... or maybe that's why they're being posted so prolifically._

~Taidine

Chapter Two : Of History and Hairstyles

"_Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, does not go away."_

K_atara. Aang. Sokka. Suki. Toph. Zuko. They were sitting in a dark room with high ceilings, the shadows cast by a flickering torch dancing across their faces. The room had the graceful, open architecture of the air nomads, but it still managed to be dank and close, as though underground. The six were studying a stone wall carved with strange, contorted designs – pictograms, or calligraphy in some language Zuko had never seen before._

"…_the Amulet of the Four Elements," Aang was saying, as he traced one finger along the upraised carvings. "It's a powerful bending artifact, hidden in… the spirit world?"_

"_You don't sound too sure," said Zuko, disgruntled._

"_I'm not," Aang admitted, letting his hand drop. "It's an ancient dialect – even for me. I can follow this map, but I can't be totally sure what we'll find at the end." He waved the torch he held in his off hand along the wall, revealing, beside the words, a map, carved in elegant detail._

"_I'll make a copy," Katara volunteered, producing a roll of parchment and a stick of charcoal._

"_I don't know if we have time to go chasing after something like this," said Aang anxiously._

_Sokka held up a finger and straightened, adopting his lecturing mode. "It's true that we only have a few weeks before a big hunk of space rock shows up and makes a bunch of uber-powered firebenders for us to deal with," he said, putting down his finger and resuming a more typical expression. "Which is all the more reason for us to get help from _whatever we can,_ so if the basement of the air temple – or is it the attic?" No one answered. "If the basement and or attic of the air temple has a mysterious map to a powerful bending artifact that gives Aang a fighting chance of taking out the Firelord, it sounds like a _good_ idea to me."_

_Silence. A hermit crab scuttled across the floor. "That was a rousing speech," Sokka added. "You're all supposed to cheer or agree or something."_

"_Done," said Katara, rolling up her sheet of parchment into a neat scroll. "Well, I think the decision has to be Aang's."_

"_Umm… okay," said the Avatar cautiously. "But I do want to know what everyone else thinks."_

"_I say we do it!" announced Sokka._

"_Yeah, we know," said Toph. "But I guess I don't see any reason not to. You can work on your training on the road as well as anywhere. And I'm getting a little bored around here anyway."_

"_Suki?" prompted Sokka._

"_Oh! I don't think I get a vote-" At least three people in the room were giving her looks that suggested she hadn't thought that statement through before she said it. "Okay. I say we go after it."_

"_Agreed," said Katara._

"_Then it's settled!" said Sokka._

"_Wait," Zuko broke in. "I don't think we should."_

"_Why?" asked Aang. "You're the one who's in such a hurry to defeat the Firelord. Seems like you'd be the first to agree."_

"_I dunno," he admitted, staring off into darkness. "But I'm getting a bad feeling about this."_

I woke up the next morning more or less convinced that I had dreamed the whole thing. It wouldn't be the first time. Besides, in dream logic it all made perfect sense – that I would meet Zuko in math class, that I would talk to him, that he would immediately trust me and follow me home like a lost puppy. Surely in reality Zuko would be more skeptical and suspicious of a girl who knew his name for no good reason in a world where everyone else thought he was some honors student called Zen.

Well, I guess it was a good thing I got up early to make tea, then.

I've been a tea drinker since long before Avatar, because frankly, coffee is disgusting. But no one else in my family is too enamored with it, so if I want tea, I generally have to make it myself. Which, since I have to be on the train to school pretty early anyway (school's in Manhattan, I live in Brooklyn, you do the math), means I'm up well before the rest of the household, even chipper cousin Emma, who likes staying up late and sleeping in until the very last minute. Today was no exception; I roused myself from bed at an ungodly hour, tucked my feet into a pair of slippers, and padded downstairs to put the kettle on.

He was lying on the couch in my living room, right where I had left him, looking uncharacteristically serene in sleep. Long hair hid most of his scarred eye, while his whole one was closed and uncreased, and if he wasn't quite smiling, at least his expression was relaxed. I watched him for a second, suddenly realized I was reaching out to smooth back his hair, jerked my hand back and held it firmly with the other. He didn't stir, to my vast relief.

Is this turning into a love letter to Zuko? I'll admit I'm a bit of a fangirl, as I've said before, but I'd like to justify myself now: it's not because of his clear golden eyes, the cut of his hair, or even the way his scar makes his face, which would have been blandly handsome to begin with, honestly beautiful (a thing need to be flawed to be beautiful, you know, perfection never is). It was his unmitigated, if sometimes misplaced, sense of honor; the hint of conflicted vulnerability; and perhaps most of all his reckless passion. I'm not a very passionate person myself, and being around Zuko is the emotional equivalent of standing in front of a bonfire to get warm.

Not, you know, that I'd spent any time actually around him up until now, but it came through in the show.

The whistle of the kettle roused him, groggy and disoriented; I killed the gas and leaned around the divider between kitchen and living room. "Do you want some tea?"

"Uh… sure," he said, looking around as if trying to decide where he was all over again.

I use tea bags. So sue me. I put two in a pair of cups, dumped hot water over the top, and grabbed the honey.

"I think I'm starting to remember why I'm here," he said as I handed him a cup. I took a seat across from the couch and began liberally pouring honey into my tea.

"That's good. Care to elucidate?"

He took a sip and grimaced slightly, but was kind enough not to comment. I offered him the honey. "Okay. We were looking for some kind of artifact, something that would have helped Aang." He said it easily, obviously expecting me to recognize the names. I did, of course, but that seemed an odd assumption to make. "We were heading out on a roadtrip to find it. After that… I'm not sure. But that must have something to do with…" he gestured impatiently around the room with the teacup, causing some to slosh over onto the couch. "…this. Oops. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," I said, and hurried off to get some paper towels before the teastains could set on the couch cushions.

There wasn't much time for bonding anyway; someone in my family was bound to wake up pretty soon, and Zuko couldn't be there when they did. So I gave him hurried directions to the train station and told him to meet me there; he agreed, all too passively, but I guess when you don't know where to begin, some drifting is to be expected. My mom heard the door open and shouted something from her bedroom; I told her I was letting the cat out. We do have a cat, more or less, although she has been known to eat and sleep in every apartment on our floor. The codes in our building are fairly flexible.

I met up with Zuko at the train station; he hadn't had too much trouble getting there. "So, you going to hang at school today?" I asked, for the first time glad I didn't have any friends whom I normally took the train with. Today was Friday, by and by; we'd have to work out something else to do tomorrow.

"I guess," he said. "There's a chance that if I showed up there, someone else might have too. And… I don't have a better plan."

I nodded. Not complaining.

I was nervous about asking Zuko if he knew which classes to go to, but he had made it through yesterday, and he set off confidently as soon as he entered the school building. I had more important things to worry about – like being accosted by Kat on my way to my first class. "Hey, Liz. About yesterday."

"What about it?" I asked.

"You said you saw Zuko in your math class." Given her response to me yesterday, she seemed uncharacteristically concerned now.

"I did," I answered. "I caught him after school and wooed him and he slept over my house."

Kat actually stopped dead in the middle of the hallway; I pulled her to one side so she didn't get stepped on, and was forced to fake a laugh. "I was kidding," I lied.

"Look," said Kat, sounding far too serious. "If you know who Zuko is, I really do need to find him."

Okay… weird. For the first time, I took a really good look at my friend. She was wearing her hair in a pair of loopy things that attached to a half-bun in the back.

The bell rang. "I gotta go. Meet me after school," I directed, and ducked into the classroom.

When I got to math, Zuko was in Zen's chair. I slid into the seat behind him. "I think Katara's here," I muttered.

"Where?" He rounded on me fiercely. I looked pointedly around the classroom; several of them had turned to look. He eased back into his seat, which he had half-risen out of.

"She'll meet us after school," I said.

She did. I think I was getting the hang of it, because when Kat emerged, I made a small mental adjustment, expecting Katara; and lo, she was Katara. Same height, hair, and olive complexion as my friend, but her wide, pale eyes never belonged to Kat. But wait – this didn't make sense. Kat was someone I'd known for years, not like the boy Zuko had replaced. And despite the fact that I would have cast her as Katara if we were, say, cosplaying the show, she was indubitably a different person, or had been.

She was already in conversation with Zuko when I arrived. "Where are Aang and Sokka? And Toph?"

"How should I know?" Zuko asked impatiently. "I can't even remember how we got here."

"We were going after the Amulet," said Katara, haltingly. "We followed the map to a… portal of some kind… Suki was injured… your sister was following us…" She stared past us, as though straining under the recollection. "We must have gone through and wound up here. The rest of them must be around somewhere."

"Azula's here," said Zuko darkly. "She found me yesterday. I think she had a better idea of what's going on than any of us."

"Yesterday," said Katara, sounding just as worried. "I couldn't even remember who I was until this morning. This is bad, this is very bad. We need a plan."

I broke in for the first time. "Sounds like you need Sokka."

They looked at me. "Are you…" Katara began.

"Just Liz," I answered. "Sorry. But I know as much about this as anyone. And since you need a plan, and Sokka's the idea guy, we might want to focus on finding him."

"_How_ do you know?" Katara asked.

"Come on, Kat," I said flatly. "You watch the show too."

It wasn't much of an explanation. We set ourselves up around the door of the school and waited to see if any more fictitious characters emerged.


	3. Of Sphinxes and Stalkers

_Ah, yes, another chapter. Lovely._

_And today, I shall write my disclaimer in the form of a haiku:_

_Outside, raindrops fall;_

_Though I don't own Avatar,_

_This story is mine._

_~Taidine_

Chapter Three : Of Sphinxes and Stalkers

"_There are more things on Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."_

S_omewhere in the five boroughs; a dockside warehouse. It belongs to one of those internet book companies. Amazon, maybe. The sun is lowering over the water, but inside, fluorescent bulbs are lit and buzzing. They illuminate haphazard stacks of book-filled boxes. But they flicker oddly, not so much from light to dark as from one quality of light to another. _

_And when they flicker, things change. The stacks of boxes are replaced by tall stone pillars, the corrugated metal walls by more stone, finely carved. The warehouse seems to be sharing space with an ancient temple. It all depends on how you look at it._

_Tramping through the boxes is a squad of cops, lead by a girl who looks too young for the job, dark hair tucked under her cap. Flicker. Tramping through the stone pillars is a squad of Fire Nation troops in full uniform, Azula at their head, full lips curled into a nasty smile. They, like the warehouse, are both and neither, not entirely decided either way. The borders between the worlds are thin here._

"_Stop," called the policewoman, smirking, as she spotted a bundle against one metal wall: some homeless bum, wrapped in blankets, a cat curled beside him. Flicker. The metal wall became intricate stone; the pathetic bundle was something noble and elegant, a beast with the body of a lion and the head of a man. Azula's smirk widened._

"_Sphinx," she said. "We're here for the Amulet of the Four Elements. I heard you know where it is, so you can tell us…" She held out her hand. In the fluorescent lights she held a gun, but in the weird flickers, it was a ball of white-hot flame, licking eagerly at her fingers. "Or we can find out my way."_

_The vagrant cringed in his blankets. "I don't know nothing," he whined. Flicker. The Sphinx raised its bearded head and spoke in a deep, resonant voice. "I have only the riddles which I am to give to the Avatar."_

"_The Avatar isn't here right now. How about giving them to us instead?" Azula asked, all fake, saccharine sweetness._

"_That would not be proper," said the Sphinx. "It is not the duty I have been charged with."_

"_I'd start rethinking that duty, then," counseled Azula, her face twisting into a sadistic smile. She turned to her troops. "Attack. And don't let up until it offers us some information." _

_She spun her hand around. A gunshot rang out in the warehouse; in the temple, a burst of blue fire shot from her palm, carving a line through the air towards the Sphinx._

Meanwhile, back in the heart of Manhattan, Zuko, Katara and I had just about given up. There was no sign of Sokka or the others amongst the happy crowd of students leaving, eager for the coming weekend; maybe they had left, maybe they weren't people at this school in the first place, maybe they had passed without us recognizing them. After all, I don't know how it worked for Zuko and Katara, the genuine Avatar characters, but I only seemed to recognize them when I was expecting them – not until after Azula had done her firebending routine, for instance, or Kat had put her hair up Katara-style. Zuko, of course, was my miracle exception.

Anyway, the sun was getting low, the shadows of the buildings were stretching long and spidery, and we were heading out. I volunteered my house again. I wasn't running out of couches quite yet, although if we found the rest of the gang resources might be stretched. I mean, by Manhattan standards my apartment was fair sized, but it was still an apartment. I was considering logistic problems like this and heading down the sidewalk, towards the train station, when suddenly the air was split by a terrible scream.

"What was that?" said Katara.

I shrugged. Zuko gave her a 'not our problem' look – but this was Katara, and she didn't possess the ability to leave well enough alone. "Come on, if someone's in trouble we need to help," she said, and began to run. Zuko was only half a step behind.

I foisted my heavy backpack, sighed, and followed.

Quick geography lesson. My school is right near Columbus Circle, favorite haunt of skateboarders and nexus of subway trains. Past that is Central Park. My train, however, does not stop at Columbus Circle; I am obliged to walk in very nearly the opposite direction. Closer to my train station than to the Circle, although still well out of my way under normal circumstances, is a middle school, I.S. something or other.

The only reason I have to go near the school is the street between it and my subway station. It's a narrow street; on one side, it is shadowed by the windowless back of a tall brick building, wrought with odd indentations, archways that might once have been openings but now led nowhere; on the other side is a small but amazing sushi place and a branch library of the New York Public Library system. I like sushi and I like books. QED.

I tell you all this because, after a great deal of running and dangerous, madcap jaywalking, we discovered this was where the scream had come from.

As I tore around the corner, the first thing I saw was a lot of great, dark, flapping shapes, like huge bats or small dragons. I pulled up short, trying to take it in; they were fluttering through the air, mostly just wing, but twenty or twenty-five feet of that, and long, whiplike necks, and longer, prehensile tails. "Snakebats?" Zuko muttered, standing beside Katara, in front of me. "What are they doing here?"

They were coming from the windowless building, from the bricked-over arches that might once have been windows. But the thing was – they were still bricked over. I saw one of the creatures crawls out of the indentation; the bricks darkened and rippled behind it like water as it launched itself from the windowsill, spreading its vast, sheetlike wings.

"It doesn't matter," said Katara firmly, "look!"

The snakebats weren't entirely disorganized; in fact, the flock seemed to have a focus, congregating above the building in between the sushi place and the public library – a boarded up storefront, abandoned for as long as I could remember. There seemed, between flapping wing-edges and whipping limbs, to be a cowering human figure amongst them.

"Cover me," she instructed Zuko, and darted forward, raising her arms in a familiar waterbending form. I tried to figure out where she would draw water from, then remembered there was a decorative fountain in the front window of the sushi place. Even as I thought that, there was a shattering sound, and the picture window exploded outward, followed by a long rope of water, shedding ornamental lily blossoms as it snapped towards the lizardbats. For a second they scattered, giving us a glimpse of the person they had been mobbing – a young boy, probably from the nearby school, with softly spiked hair, clutching a backpack. I didn't immediately recognize him, but an unidentifiable look flashed across Katara's face at her first glimpse and she mouthed something I was almost sure was "Aang?"

One of the snakebats noticed her and swung its head – little more than teeth at the end of its neck – around towards her, disturbingly fast. Fortunately, Zuko was quicker; he flung out one hand, sending a jet of fire to catch it squarely on the head.

I was being useless again. I hated it. I pulled off my backpack and began looking for something I could use to help out, but it wasn't much use, my books weren't very heavy and I didn't exactly carry a Swiss Army Knife to school. My pens, laid out neatly in the loops in a front pocket of the pack, made me hesitate; I felt as though they were almost familiar, in this context. Well, of course they were familiar. I used them every day.

Katara whirled, sending her whip of water tangling around a pair of snakebats; they fell to the ground, wings tangling uselessly. Zuko swept a line of fire indiscriminately across the flock; several wing edges caught flame, and the afflicted creatures flapped off towards the Hudson River to extinguish themselves. Katara caught another upside the head; it tumbled towards Zuko, but he swept fire under it, creating an updraft of warm air that billowed its slack wings upward, and then Katara's water came back around, broadening around the end into a racket shape and hitting the creature out of the way.

The remainder of the flock, with soft flappings and creelings, rose into the air and scattered, crawling back in through the not-windows on the brick building or soaring away over the city. Zuko leaned on his knees to catch his breath. Katara sent her water splashing back into the fountain and darted over to the boy the snakebats had been attacking, kneeling next to him.

Feeling a little fuzzy, I zipped up my backpack and walked over to her, in time to hear her speak: "Aang, are you all right?"

"Who…" The boy was on his knees, holding his backpack like a security blanket against his chest. He sounded shaken, edging towards hostile. "I guess. Look, my name's Michael. What's going on? What were those things?"

"Michael?" Katara repeated, mouthing the syllables as though it were the oddest name she had ever heard. "But… why would they have gone after you, then? Did you do anything to them?"

"No, I was minding my own business." Now he sounded downright surly. "Look, I don't know who you are or what you did or what you want, but you're kind of creeping me out."

Katara and Zuko exchanged glances; she gestured, and we all fell back to the brick building, forming a kind of team huddle. "Okay," Katara began, darting a glance over her shoulder to make sure the boy she thought was Aang hadn't run off. He was watching us suspiciously. "Now what's going on?"

"He sounds like Aang," Zuko volunteered. I nodded agreement; the voice was right, if the Avatar were a little more cynical. "And why would those things have gone after him if he weren't?!"

"Exactly," Katara agreed.

I cleared my throat. They looked at me. "Well. I remember talking to Kat about Zuko yesterday," I said, voice monotone.

"Okay…" Katara prompted.

"So she didn't know she was you," I told her, a little annoyed. I wasn't sure whether it was at them for being thick or at myself for explaining things badly.

"She's right." Ah, thank goodness, Zuko was backing me up. Although he didn't sound happy about it. "It must be a side effect of the portal or something. I couldn't remember everything at first. I still can't. So I think this kid _is _the Avatar-"

"But he doesn't know it yet," I finished.

"So we'll have to watch out for him. He's completely vulnerable if any more monsters show up." Zuko curled his hands into fists and looked up, a stray breeze ruffling his hair.

I nodded in firm agreement. "Got it. Let me call-"

"Not you." Zuko again. Katara nodded.

"What?" I froze with my cell phone half way out. The word came out flat, disbelieving.

"I said, not you. Look, you've been a great help and all, but I think we can handle it."

Katara continued nodding. "It's too dangerous. You're not a bender – if we got into a fight, we'd have to defend you on top of everything else. I'm sorry."

"Maybe I am a liability in a fight," I admitted. "But you need me."

Zuko scowled. "Why?"

"I have an apartment; otherwise you'll be sleeping on the streets or going home to play Kat and Zen, and I don't know how that'll work out. I have a MetroCard. I know this city – good luck getting around without some sort of guide. And unlike anyone else you're likely to pick up, I know your world, too. I don't try to sell myself too often, but I think in this situation I'm just about ideal." I crossed my arms over my chest and gazed at them levelly, willing them to see reason.

"We're not helpless," said Zuko. "That guy, Zen…"

But Katara sighed and shook her head. "We will be. The person I thought I was, Kat. I'm already starting to forget things about her. You must be even worse off. We're going to need someone who really does belong in this world. I don't want to drag anyone into this, but… Liz is right."

Well, this was an interesting stroke of fortune. So Zuko really had been Zen, and Katara had been Kat. That explained their confusion at all the wrong things, why there had been no frantic questioning about electricity and cars – and why they had accepted I knew about them so easily. Kat, at least, knew about the show. That still didn't explain exactly what was going on, though. Were they merely inhabiting these people, and not replacing them at all? Would they disappear back to their world when this was over, leaving Kat and Zen and Michael with odd holes in their memories? Or was something deeper going on, and if so - what?

I couldn't think on it as closely as I would have liked; we had to set up a stakeout on Michael, make sure he didn't get into any more trouble until he realized who he was. As we had been talking, he had regained his feet, and begun cautiously moving up the street, towards the school. Quite suddenly, a group of students around his age had emerged from around a corner, and with many a cry of welcome, he had gone to join their group. One of those annoying groups of kids, the loud ones on the train you just want to shove onto the tracks, but I fought down my distaste and observed them as dispassionately as possible. Michael was clearly a ringleader, and the longer I watched, the more Aang-like he seemed; every action, every mannerism was familiar from the cartoon. Much like Kat had always seemed to me like Katara.

Maybe I was just going crazy.

My offer of an apartment ultimately proved useless; Kat lived in the city, quite close to the school, and her parents were off on a business trip or something, so Katara and Zuko determined to spend the night there. I couldn't stay over, though, my overprotective family would never have allowed it; making them swear to meet me bright and early up in this neighborhood so we could pursue our stakeout over the weekend, I headed home.

I came home tired, hoping I wouldn't have to deal with any questioning from my parents; fortunately, I wasn't quite late enough to warrant interrogation. My erstwhile cousin Emma apparently didn't have gymnastics today, though, and she was being even more obnoxiously cheerful than usual. "Hey, Li," she said, using her truncated nickname for me as she followed me up to my room.

"Hi," I replied, unenthusiastically. I wanted to read, do some quick homework, and go to bed, not converse with an overly chipper cousin. I sat down on the edge of my bed and picked up a book, hoping she would get the message.

She leaned over into a backbend, arched, and lifted her legs so she was standing on her hands. Even for a Level Nine gymnast that was pretty impressive; I stared at her for a moment, her wide eyes and grin, and thought for a moment how much she reminded me of…

I stopped the thought, slumping in my bed and dropping my book in my lap. "I'm seeing Avatar characters everywhere," I complained.

There was a crash, as of someone in a handstand suddenly falling over. "How did you know?" she squealed.

I lifted my head, doing that mental shift thing – _expecting_ it. Sure enough, sprawled on my rug where Emma had been a moment before, long braid curling behind her, was Ty Lee in a state of wide-eyed bewilderment.


	4. Of Gymnasts and Jolts

_Review! Woohoo! And really as good a review as I can hope for in this sort of story._

_Honestly, Liz is not a self-insert, just more like me than most of my OC's._

_Yes, this tale in general lacks subtlety..._

_And for the chronically curious, there is in fact such a thing as a 'level nine gymnast' - they're about two steps below 'Olympic gymnast' but can compete at a local, state, and sometimes national level._

_I still don't own Avatar. Or New York City. Though that would be cool._

_~Taidine_

Chapter Four : Of Gymnasts and Jolts

"_If you're bored, you're not paying attention."_

I promised Ty Lee I would tell her everything I knew in the morning, sent her out of my room, and sat down to do homework. It was strangely relaxing; the simple mental effort of math problems reassured me at least some of my brain was still working. The thing was, just about everyone around me was becoming part of my delusion – so I had no one left to confirm my own sanity.

On the other hand, I wasn't sure I really cared.

Ty Lee got up before me the next morning, as I had half-expected. I woke up to her opening my door with her feet because she was walking on her hands. "Morning!" she greeted with unnecessary brightness.

"Morning," I replied dully, pushing back my covers.

"Okay, start talking." She flipped onto her feet, looking at me with something that might almost be seriousness. "Who are you? Wait, let me guess. Mai?"

"Just Liz," I answered, clambering out of bed. "I know where Katara and Zuko are, though. And Azula's around somewhere."

"I know _that_," said Ty Lee, making a face. "She left me and Mai tied up and went through the portal after the Avatar. But I slipped the ropes and we followed her! Had to rescue Zuzu, didn't we?" She moved her hands as she talked, miming slipping free of something tied around her wrists, and finished up grinning.

"So Mai _is _here," I said, padding downstairs and putting up the kettle. Tea was a soothing ritual.

"Um… I think so," said Ty Lee, the smile vanishing. "But she tried to do that thing Azula did, and I don't know if it worked. I hope she's okay."

"What thing? Do you want any tea?" I asked.

Ty Lee shook her head to the second, sending a sine wave through her long braid. "Well, there were these pretty carvings on the walls. Azula said they would keep her from forgetting, like I did. Say…" She tilted her head. "Is that waterbender girl's brother here? I saw him go through the portal."

I was getting down a teacup and honey. "We haven't found Sokka yet. I told you, it's just Katara and Zuko so far. We think we've found Aang too, but he disagrees, so we're trying to keep him safe. You can help us if it'll keep you out of trouble." The teakettle whistled, and I poured boiling water over my teabag, frowning slightly.

Ty Lee took a seat at the kitchen table and rested her chin on one fist. "Gee, you sure are grumpy in the mornings."

I didn't have to endure too much of Ty Lee's chatter, because she discovered Emma's iPod, and was more than happy to sit quietly and listen to music on the train. As for me, I read. There's nothing like a book to keep people from bothering you. In between chapters, I tried to remember if I'd forgotten anything. Cell phone – check. Paper and pens – check. Subway and street map – check. Excuse – check, I'd gotten permission from my parents to 'go into the city with some friends,' which they were okay with, provided I called in periodically to give them status reports. MetroCard and money – check, and those were probably my main assets right now.

We found Katara and Zuko on the street where we had battled the monsters; I was munching a buttered roll, and Ty Lee had a donut, both off one of those ubiquitous street vendors. I was curious to see if they would recognize the newest member of the cast or whether they would just see my cousin.

My question was answered as Katara's gaze fell upon Ty Lee and her pale eyes narrowed. "You! Liz, she's working for Azula!"

Ty Lee's expression was hurt; she held up a hand as if to say, "me?" I shook my head. "Not after the fiasco at the boiling rock," I assured her. "Zuko, back me up here?"

He nodded. "It's because of Ty Lee and Mai… that we got away. Yeah." His voice lingered over the name 'Mai.'

Katara's expression remained suspicious. "If you say so…"

"There he is," I interrupted, spotting Aang – or rather, Michael – and his gaggle of cohorts, crossing the end of the streets.

"Fine. Come with us. But I'm keeping an eye on you," said Katara. "If you so much look like you're going to hurt Aang or anyone else on our team…" She let the threat hang. We headed out.

Michael and company were making for a pair of basketball courts, so we took positions around the chain-link fence of the one they were playing in, watching him, his group and everything outside. We were all a little jumpy, I think, worried something like those snakebats might show up again. Ty Lee clued the gang in on what she had told me earlier: how Azula was after the Amulet too, and how she had done something to protect her identity before entering the portal. So now we knew who was over here with us at least: In addition to Zuko, Katara, Azula and her squadron, Ty Lee herself, and Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Mai had gone through the portal. Suki had been injured on the journey, during a battle with Azula, and captured by the Fire Nation princess; she had wound up with Mai and Ty Lee, and opted to stay behind as a guard when they went through the portal. So now we had the whole story, more or less, but weren't exactly sure what to do with it.

As we – or rather, Katara and Zuko – were discussing our options, Michael fudged a basket and chanced to look our way; his eyes narrowed in displeased recognition. I could imagine his thoughts: we were stalkers, after all, and a somewhat creepy bunch, at that. I wondered how he saw us – did he notice Zuko's intimidating scar or Katara's odd hairstyle?

He turned to his friends, tossed one the basketball, and wandered over. "Look, if you guys keep following me I'm going to have to call the police or something," he said, stopping a safe distance from the fence.

We were right next to the gate onto the court; Katara pulled it open and stepped in, one hand extended, speaking soothingly. "Look, I know you think we're crazy, but you have to believe us," she said. He didn't move, but continued to stare at her, hostile and suspicious. I could imagine how much this was hurting her. "Those monsters yesterday should have proved it. You're Aang, you're the Avatar, and you're our friend. Please…"

Michael dipped his hand into one pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "I warned you," he began.

A rock, a piece of asphalt, came soaring through the air, looping around him in a way that defied the normal laws of projectile motion and knocking the phone clean out of his hands. It skittered across the basketball court and came to rest near the feet of a short girl with dark hair and clouded eyes. "Phone down, Twinkletoes," she commanded.

Katara followed the phone with her eyes, then looked up at the girl who had thrown the rock. "Hey, Toph," she smiled.

I was pleased with myself for having recognized the earthbender immediately. She stomped one foot, and the ground rippled, sending the cell phone up into the air; she caught it neatly in one hand. "Hi, Katara," she said casually. "Zuko. Aang."

Michael's friends were scattering, one by one, until he was alone on the court, barring the rest of the gang. "I'm not Aang!" he declared again, taking half a step towards Toph and his cell phone. She must have sensed it; she stepped back, keeping the distance.

"You want this?" She brandished the phone. "Come get it."

He was looking her over, probably wondering how much a fight a blind girl could offer; without warning, he lunged forward. Toph took a single step and the asphalt in front of her buckled in response, a spur of rock springing up between her and Michael. The boy crashed into it with a cry and dodged around, only to be met by another wall of earth. "Fight back," said Toph, sweeping her hand down. The court smoothed over again. "I know you can."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he maintained. She raised her arms, and a pair of boulders tore free of the asphalt. "I just want my cell phone back!" He sprang forward again; the boulders flew towards him, one behind the other, and he just barely managed to duck.

"What are you doing?" Katara cried out in horror as Toph tore another pair of rocks free.

"Trust me," the earthbender responded, whirling. Michael dodged around the rocks, left then right. A spur of rock rose from the court and caught him squarely in the chest, sending him flying into the air with a strangled cry. Katara let out a gasp of horror and raised her hands into a waterbending form, but Toph almost negligently extended her own palm, and another wall of rock rose, blocking Katara from the conflict. Michael flew through the air, crumpled from the blow. There was a collective intake of breath as he twisted through the air – far too high to land safely, a cartoon character would have been fine but in real life bones break more easily. As high as the chain link fence now, an expression of terror on his face that slowly solidified into frank determination – he extended one hand, palm downwards.

There was a powerful updraft, a twist of wind that knocked his falling form straight and slowed his descent. He landed in an easy crouch, looking around with wide eyes. "Um…" he straightened up, scratching the back of his head, and his expression went sheepish. "Hi, Toph. Can I have my cell phone back now?"

She tossed it to him; he caught it with a negligent puff of air and floated it into his palm.

"Aang!" Katara cried. Toph moved, slightly and deliberately, and the rocks all sunk back into the asphalt, restoring the basketball court to roughly its former state. As soon as the dividing wall was down she raced forward; Aang met her half way, and they hugged briefly. I focused on adjusting my perceptions, my expectations, until I could glimpse the blue arrow tattoo peeking out from under his softly spiked hair.

Katara released Aang and rounded on Toph. "How did you know that would work?" she demanded fiercely. "If he hadn't come around when he did, you could have seriously hurt him!"

"Relax," Toph said, flapping a hand in Katara's direction. "He just needed a jolt, okay? The same thing happened to me. I thought I was someone else entirely until I got pushed off the subway tracks and had to earthbend to save myself. It's no picnic being blind if you can't use earthbending to see, by the way."

"A jolt?" I mused, feeling like I needed to contribute something to the conversation.

Katara looked thoughtful. "She may have a point. I didn't snap out of it until I saw Zuko."

"I… Liz used my name," said Zuko grudgingly. "I guess that's when I came around."

"I was doing stretches," said Ty Lee. "But I don't think I had very far to snap!"

Toph whirled towards Ty Lee's bright voice. "What's _she _doing here?"

"She's on our side. We think," said Katara.

Toph scowled at Ty Lee, blowing dark stringy bangs out of her face with a quick puff of breath. "Yep," said Ty Lee. "Azula and Mai and me haven't been getting along lately, so we're helping you out instead."

"Okay, I believe you," said Toph. I recalled the whole earthbending-to-detect-lies thing and hoped Ty Lee couldn't dupe it as easily as Azula could. "One more thing…" She spun around, taking in the whole group. "Where's Sokka?"

"Mmhmm, where is Sokka?" asked Ty Lee, starry-eyed.

"As far as we know, he hasn't, um, snapped yet," said Katara. "So we don't even know who he is, let alone where."

But I had been thinking. Everyone else so far had turned out to be someone who was already fundamentally similar to the character – at least, Aang, Katara, and Ty Lee had been, and I imagined Zen had been somewhat Zuko-ish and whoever Toph had been followed the same pattern. So I just had to figure out who I knew, or at least knew of, who was like Sokka. There was really only one group of people who immediately sprang to mind.

"I think I have an idea," I said. "We should pay a visit to Columbus Circle."


	5. Of Skaters and Spirits

_The fun continues. Two chapters since I missed yesterday; puts us about half way through the story._

_I still don't own Avatar et al._

_~Taidine_

Chapter Five : Of Skaters and Spirits

"_Objectivity is subjective."_

"Let me get this straight. You think Sokka is a skater boy?" asked Toph derisively as we took seats at the bench lining the interior island of the Circle. She kept her feet pressed firmly to the ground, which was thrumming with the rattle and thump of skateboards as the usual group of skaters and stoners showed off their latest tricks. They skidded on the benches and the edge of the fountain, leaped up onto the pedestal of the eagle-and-random-famous-person statue in the center of the Circle, and popped their boards into the air, spinning them and clacking back down upon their tops.

"Sure," I answered. "He's smart, he's sarcastic, he's witty and he's cute. It fits."

"You do know he already has a girlfriend," said Zuko, looking up briefly.

I didn't meet his golden eyes. "Yeah, a girlfriend and a queue," I replied flatly, my own eyes flicking over to where Toph and Ty Lee were sitting, a faint animosity palpable between them. "I don't like him. I'm just making an observation."

We fell silent, skimming the kinetoscopic skateboarders. I couldn't see anyone resembling Sokka, but then, I hadn't seen Aang at first, either.

"Anyone want to play cards?" I asked after a little while. The skaters were interesting for about a minute, after which soul numbing boredom began to creep in.

"No thanks," answered Aang, still studying to skaters intently. He was a monk, he probably had training in stuff like this. Katara shook her head. Zuko muttered "I'll pass," Ty Lee didn't seem to hear me, and Toph declined with a terse, "can't."

"Fine." Just as well, I hadn't actually brought cards.

"I can't see them when they're on the skateboards," Toph complained.

"Would you be able to recognize him right away on the ground?" Asked Katara. Her words were punctuated by the skid of a board and a loud "ow!" from one of the skaters.

"Sure," said Toph. "I could tell with Aang, couldn't I? I guess the way I sense people is harder to fool."

Katara looked around again. The boy who had fallen clambered back up on his board and kicked off, wheels rattling. "I don't know. I don't see anyone like Sokka here."

I wondered if I had been wrong. Maybe Sokka wasn't a skater; and even if he was, no guarantee he'd hang around in Columbus Circle. Another board skidded, and a body thumped. "Wait!" Toph cried, "I think…" She didn't finish, all but springing to her feet and dashing around to the other side of the Circle. We followed.

When we caught up to the earthbender, she was standing in the middle of the pathway, in the shadow of the statue, annoying skaters as they were forced to loop around her. An expression of deep concentration was on her face. "That was him. But he got back on the board. He's _here_," she asserted, stomping a foot in an annoyed fashion.

Something vast and stony moved out of the corner of my eye, and for a second I thought Toph had done some frustrated but inadvisable bending. I turned, hoping I wouldn't see the statue tear free of the ground or some such. What I did see was much stranger.

As I have mentioned, there is a statue in the middle of Columbus Circle. Atop it is some famous dude, probably the one from whom the circle had taken its name. Perched on the side of the pedestal is a great eagle, feathers delicately carved, wings slightly outstretched and pinned to the stone. Or at least, they had been; but right at that moment, as I turned to look, the eagle was folding its wings.

"What…" Katara murmured, and Ty Lee gave a high-pitched gasp. The rest of the Circle seemed totally oblivious; a skater rattled past us with a vexed expression. But we stared as the great bird ruffled out its feathers, then smoothed them, hopping forward on the pedestal. It was enormous, bigger than any real eagle, and the stone of the pedestal seemed to dimple a little under its weight. It's beak, as long as my forearm, opened; and to my vast surprise, it spoke.

"Avatar," it said.

"That's me," said Aang boldly, stepping forward.

It tilted its head, feathers on its neck standing up, and again a deep voice issued from its massive beak. "Why have you come to this place? This is not your world."

"I'm here to find the Amulet of the Four Elements, so I can defeat the Firelord and restore balance to the world," answered the boy, sounding very brave and noble. A second later, though, he spoiled it with a meek: "Uh, my world, that is. I didn't think I'd end up here. I don't even know where here is!"

"This is a realm beyond the spirit world," said the eagle ponderously. "It is a reflection. It contains your world, and is contained by it. It is a world far more real, and far less. It is dangerous for you to be here. More dangerous than you can imagine."

"But I have to find the Amulet," Aang maintained.

"You must, to return home," the eagle agreed, shuffling yet a little farther forward on the pedestal, until its claws clutched at the edge. "But be warned, Avatar. There are vagrant spirits here who will have no love for you. They will sense you have the power to bring them home, and they will seek you out."

"I think we've met some of them already," Aang agreed. I remembered the snakebats and had to agree. "But they must know something I don't. How _can_ I get home?"

"The Amulet," said the eagle. "It will allow you to return, but only when quickened by the bending of all four elements."

Aang nodded decisively. "Then how can I find it?"

"To remember who you are is the first riddle. The Sphinx will give you your second."

"The Sphinx? Who's that?"

"The Guardian of the Temple," said the eagle.

"The temple? That's where Azula wanted to go!" Ty Lee exclaimed. We all turned to her.

"The Sphinx and I were two of those who bore the Amulet here long ago," said the eagle, shuffling backwards. "Now, none of us can give it to you in its entirety. But the Sphinx will set you on the road to find the artifact, and to return home. And you must return home, Avatar. You do not belong here…" The final word faded as the eagle regained its original position and spread its wings slightly. An unfelt wind seemed to ruffle its feathers; then they faded and stilled, returning to lifeless stone.

Ty Lee broke the silence, entirely unawed by what we had just witnessed. "Well, I totally got a look at Azula's information. I can find the temple no problem."

"What about Sokka?" asked Katara.

"What about Mai?" demanded Zuko, suddenly and impatiently. "She's here, and she's just as much on our side as Ty Lee is."

"We don't even know where to start looking for your girlfriend," said Toph, sounding bored. "But we do know Sokka's here somewhere. He touched the ground in the Circle for a minute. I felt it."

"Maybe we should split up," said Aang regretfully. "Ty Lee, Liz, and I can go out to the Temple and talk to the Sphinx. Katara, you and Toph stay here and look for Sokka. Zuko can stay-"

"I'll go with you," Zuko disagreed, scowling. "Toph's right about Mai. We don't even know where to start looking for her, so I'm just as likely to find her out there as here. And you might need me if you run into my sister. Or any spirits looking to eat you."

I waited to see if there were any further arguments, then pulled out my city map and spoke. "If that's settled… Ty Lee, do you think you can figure out where Azula was headed?"

We bent over the map, Ty Lee turning it every which way, tongue between her teeth, making 'hmm' noises. "Ah-hah!" she said finally, extending a hand for a pen. I handed her one, twirling it absently between my fingers before slapping it down in her palm. She brought it down firmly somewhere on the coastline of Queens. "There."

I eyed the map. The location she had marked was rather far away, even by subway. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. It's by the place where the edge of the island is shaped like an elephant-rabbit, see?"

I did not see, but she seemed rather certain of herself, so I unfolded a subway map to chart our route. "Let's get to Forty-Second Street. We can transfer there and head uptown," I told the rest of the group who had determined to seek the Temple – Ty Lee, Zuko, and Aang. They were all bent over me; Zuko's hair was tickling my ear. "We might need to take a bus over to the coast, but we'll worry about that when we get there." Folding the maps, I stood, forcing them all to straighten rather quickly to avoid skull-chin collisions. "Katara, do you have a cell phone?"

She opened the tote bag she had brought with her and pulled one out. "I can use it, don't worry," she assured me.

"We'll stay in touch," Aang promised. "Tell us right away if you find Sokka."

And we set off.

It turned out it wasn't too hard to find the Temple. A couple of train transfers got us into the general vicinity by a little past noon; I stopped at a deli to buy lunch when Aang reminded me and determined walking cross-town would be our best bet. We were approaching the water when Aang lifted one arm and said, "There."

I followed his extended finger; he was pointing to a low, cheap-looking warehouse. "You sure?" I asked.

"_Look_ at it," Aang instructed. I did that mental trick I was getting rather good at, clearing out my preconceptions and expecting something different. Sure enough, the building flickered, as briefly as though illuminated by summer lightning; for an instant, instead of corrugated metal, I saw an elegant, tapering structure of pillars and stone.

"I see," I acknowledged. We set off at a brisk walk.

The doors were padlocked, but Zuko made short work of that, heating the metal of the chain that bound them together until it melted like ice cream on a summer day. Aang gestured the doors open, and we went in, cautiously.

The interior of the warehouse was full of stacked cardboard boxes. I did my best to unfocus my thoughts and not expect anything in particular, but the whole place would do little more than that irritating flickering trick. It would have to suffice; I glimpsed high ceilings, stone pillars, and intricately carved walls as the lights within the place went from fluorescent to – something else – and back again.

Zuko paused by the entrance and ran his hand along the wall. Stone. Flicker. Cheap metal. "Look," he said, and I did. Whichever substance the wall was, it was scorched, blackened in a patch near the door.

We walked farther in, between pillared halls or stacks of boxes, and there were more signs of a battle, more scorch marks on cardboard, metal, or stone. "What happened here?" asked Aang, although he really shouldn't have needed to.

"Azula happened," said Zuko darkly.

A whimper caught our attention; almost in unison, we turned. Huddled against one wall was a dark, pathetic bundle; a scrawny, underfed man and his cat, both burned and bruised. The light flickered, momentarily revealing their true nature – a beast part feline, part human, sagging against the wall, fur scorched and matted with blood. The Sphinx.

"Yes…" the Sphinx hissed. "Your sister follows the path…"

Aang bent to the man, or the creature, that changed with the light. "Can we help you? You're hurt."

"I will recover…" the Sphinx sighed, then drew a deep, laborious breath. "You are the Avatar?"

Aang nodded, and settled on his knees. Zuko, Ty Lee, and I withdrew slightly, giving the illusion of privacy, but we could still here every word that passed between them. The Sphinx breathed again, scratchily. "Listen. The Amulet is in four parts. Each has a spirit to guard it. They must be… joined and united… with all four elements. The Fire Princess cannot quicken the Amulet. I have told her the next step, but also… that she will need you… and I did not give her the fragment entrusted to me."

"What is the next step?" asked Aang, brow furrowed.

"You must return to the center… you must speak with the bones… the bones of the terrible lizards. You must meet with the Pheonix."

Aang nodded again. "Center, terrible lizard bones, Pheonix. Got it."

"The fragment I was entrusted with. It is in the center of the temple. Take it and go… quickly…" The Sphinx let out a long, rattling breath, then turned over on its side. Flicker. The man pulled blankets up to his chin and closed his eyes.

"Is he…" Zuko began.

"Alive," said Aang. "Probably needs sleep to recover. Come on, let's get the magic amulet thing."

He led the way unerringly to the tallest sack of boxes there was. I waited for a flicker and looked up; it was a tall stone pillar, but it didn't quite meet the ceiling, and there seemed to be something luminescent in the gap. Aang put his tongue between his teeth and raised his hands, sighting carefully; then spun, bending air. A nearly visible curl of wind looped between pillar and ceiling like a lasso and constricted; something dropped free, and he caught it neatly.

It was a gemstone of flawless green, no larger than my thumb, and it seemed to shed a faint light. "Well, there's one," said Aang, and tucked it in the pocket of his jeans. "Let's check in with Katara and figure out where we're going next."

"A terrible lizard is a dinosaur," I said flatly. "And there's only one place in the city you find dinosaur bones. I know where we're going next."


	6. Of Adoptees and Archeopteryx

Chapter Six : Of Adoptees and Archaeopteryx 

"_Discovery happens to prepared minds."_

We were going, of course, to the Museum of Natural History.

The Museum is one of the few places I will actually admit to liking. I like the air of antiquity. The hushed atmosphere. The sense of peace. The vast accumulation of knowledge. Many people schlump through it in extremes of boredom, whining and eagerly anticipating the food court, and I would throttle them if it weren't against the law for that disrespect. Then again, I think that might be why I allow myself to like it. It's an underappreciated place.

We came in through the underground entrance; the admission fees are suggested donations, so I got us all in on five dollars, despite a dirty look from the man at the counter. Silently, I promised to splurge on museum admissions at some later date, when I had my parents around to provide money. We're pretty well off, see, but let me remind you – my family is overprotective. They micromanage. It was all I could do to beg enough money for movie tickets off of them yesterday – that and a week's breakfast allowance was what I had today. So however much I liked the museum, I had to be frugal.

"If we're looking for dinosaur bones," I instructed dully as we walked through the lobby, "we want the upper floors. I don't know how that relates to a phoenix, though."

"That's okay, I've got this one," grinned Aang. We all gave him slightly confused looks. "I used to visit this place all the time," he explained, shoving his fingers through his hair. Right – Michael must have been one of those dinosaur nuts. Usually by twelve boys have grown out of that stuff, but Aang had often seemed a little younger than his age, and it was no real surprise his doppelganger in my world would be the same. "Come on," he added impatiently, waving us on, and headed for the stairs. "This way."

We panted up three or four flights of stairs, broad marble with burnished bronze railings, until Aang announced, "this floor." A swarm of touristy types passed us, following a tour guide without paying much attention; I scowled at them and waited until they passed, then we rounded a corner into the first of the dinosaur exhibits.

I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of something moving, sharp teeth glinting; Zuko, right in front of me, whirled towards it faster than I could follow, one hand and foot extending into firebending stance. Ty Lee gasped and grabbed his arm – just barely stopping him from toasting a dinosaur skull, attached to a robotic stand that opened and closed its jaws mechanically.

"Don't!" she gasped, slowly releasing his arm.

Zuko let the flame cupped in his palm die out and lowered his hand, raising the other to massage his forehead. "Sorry. I'm a little… on edge. What _is _that thing?"

"One of the dinosaur displays," I replied acidly. "Haven't you ever been to the Museum before?" I meant Zen, of course – obviously Zuko had never been to the Museum of Natural History.

"I don't remember!" he growled, frustration creasing his features; he turned away.

Great. They were losing it, fast, and if I found it hard to deal with a team of _Avatar_ characters with the full memories of people born in the city, or at least living here for a while, then what would happen if a bunch of benders with less than a week's experience in my world be like? Not good. Maybe that was the point of gaining a new identity when you crossed over – you wouldn't be able to _cope_ in another world without it. But I guess you can only be one person at a time…

I was so engrossed in thought that I failed to realize we were being observed. One of the kids from the tour – a tall bleach-blonde boy around fifteen or sixteen, wearing a blue T-shirt and an 'I love NY' baseball cap – had detached himself from the fickle group and was currently leaning out past a display case, eyes wide. "Dude," he said, alerting us to his presence. "That was fire. You were about to fry that dinosaur!"

"No, it wasn't," said Zuko, "and I wasn't. Go back to your tour."

He made a futile shooing motion with his hands; the stranger shook his head. "Nah, that's not my tour. My friends kind of… ditched me. Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure…" He lifted his hand, palm up. "Foosh," he said, miming flame. "No? Definitely not?"

"Why'd they ditch you?" asked Aang. I might have rolled my eyes. If he was going to be all compassionate, how did he ever expect to get anything accomplished?

"Not big museum fans, for some reason."

Ty Lee, who had up until then been silent, finished looking the boy over and spoke: "You're pretty cute," she told him bluntly.

"Uh… thanks?" he hazarded. "You're pretty… pretty."

She beamed, turned to Zuko and Aang. "Can I keep him? Ple-_ease_?" she asked as though begging for a puppy.

"Great. Another Liz," grumbled Zuko. It hurt, but I held my silence.

Aang hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. I can't stop him if he wants to tag along, but he's your responsibility."

"Mmhmm," Ty Lee agreed solemnly.

"I'm Sean," said the boy.

"Ty Lee!" she shook his hand with fervor.

I was baffled at how quickly they had accepted this stranger; it made me feel smaller and less special. Then again, I suppose there was a precedent; the Gaang, as fanficcers had dubbed them, were a trusting bunch.

Ty Lee took Sean's hand and lead him past the dinosaurs. "They were really big, weren't they?"

"Uh-huh."

"This way," said Aang, sweeping down the hall. Zuko and I followed past the great skeletons of the brachiosaurus and, of course, _T. Rex. _ Aang made a beeline through the hall, into another, and between a pair of glass display cases into a sheltered nook. "All the flying dinosaurs are here," he announced. "I bet one of them is the Phoenix."

That made sense. "We should spread out and search the area," Zuko suggested.

"Good idea," Aang agreed.

"What are we looking for again?" asked Sean; Ty Lee batted her eyelashes and tugged him away, murmuring an explanation. I wondered how much she was sharing. Zuko glared at them and stalked off in another direction; I headed across the hall, to where a pterosaur skeleton hung suspended from the ceiling on near-invisible fishing wire. A pair of those same touristy types bumped into me; I glared at them and positioned myself below the skeleton, trying to change my mental perception. It remained immobile, skeletal, and saurian.

We must have spent half an hour in that hall before we regrouped. "Any luck?" asked Aang as we reassembled in the space between displays. Zuko, Ty Lee, and I shook our heads gravely. Sean, still being towed around like a parade float, shrugged.

"Can we go down to the food court?" Ty Lee asked, a hint of boredom in her bright tones. "They have these dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets…" Sean nodded in dreamy agreement.

"I have one more idea," said Aang. "Come on…"

Archaeopteryx, scientists theorize, is the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds. It is the earliest known animal to have true feathered wings, but retains several saurian features, such as teeth. I know all this because I must have read the little plaque in front of the archaeopteryx display, an incomplete skeleton and a stone cast with imprints of its feathers, half a dozen times as we stood in front of it and waited for it to do something.

Finally, Aang gave a great sigh. "I guess not," he admitted, toying with something in his pocket; almost unconsciously, he lifted free the faintly luminous green stone we had been given by the Sphinx. The viridian light it shed cast a broad reflection on the glass of the display case. And through that puddle of reflection, everything was different.

"Look," I said faintly, but they were all looking already – even Sean.

Through the green-reflecting glass, part of the archaeopteryx skeleton was visible, but it wasn't a skeleton; rather, it was clad in monotone feathers. "The Phoenix," breathed Aang.

As though his voice had woken it, the tip of wing stirred, feathers ruffling; the archaeopteryx skeleton twisted, moving with unexpected grace, and leaned forward towards the front of the case. As its head touched, the green-tinted glass rippled and parted like water, and it stepped through, gaining color and definition: shining scarlet plumage and brilliant, solidly golden eyes. "You are the Avatar," it asked, its voice hissing and crackling like flame.

It must be nice to have that kind of reputation. Aang nodded. "Yes. I'm here to find the Amulet of the Four Elements."

"You follow the proper path. You hold the first fragment." It sounded approving – as much as such an inhuman voice can. Its golden eyes shone as it leaned its head forward, nearly touching a beak like polished bronze to the green stone in Aang's palm. "The second is in the mouth of the tyrant," it told him, drawing back and ruffling its ruby feathers.

"Thank you," said Aang, inclining his head.

"Okay, let's go," urged Zuko with feverish impatience.

"Wait. We need to find the next guardian, too," said Aang.

The Phoenix once again looked approving, its metallic beak set in an expression almost like a smile. It held itself half out of the display case, wings extended for balance, pinions trailing backwards and turning back to bones on the other side of the glass. "Patience is indeed a virtue. Listen you well. Each of the fragments is hidden in a place of knowledge or learning. Each of the guardians stands over one. You seek the Gryphon next. He dwells across the water, on the wooded isle. The orange boat will take you quite near. Am I clear enough?"

"I… guess so," said Aang, although he looked confused.

"He watches a temple of books," said the Phoenix. "The orange boat. It is rather conspicuous." It tilted its head curiously, as though waiting for Aang to say something, but the Avatar merely looked back, green stone in his outstretched hand, the light it cast turning his blue tattoos a sickly shade; after a moment, the bird pulled its head back, crimson feathers fading as they passed the wall of glass dividing us. It hopped lithely back onto its stand.

Aang tucked the stone into his pocket and the Pheonix was once again merely the incomplete skeleton of an archaeopteryx.

"Okay, Liz, where are we going next?" he asked.

"Why me?" I asked, a little irked for no good reason.

"That's your job," answered Aang, looking bewildered that I would question such a thing. "You're the one who knows the city."

"You said it yourself," said Zuko. "If you can't figure that out, we can just leave you here." Again with the jibes. What did he have against me? Was I trying too hard to impress him? It must be purely unconscious if I was…

Fortunately, I did have an inkling of where the Phoenix meant to send us. "There's only one orange boat I know about," I answered flatly. "But first, let's get that fragment."

The tyrant was Tyrannosaurus Rex, of course; there was a bright red gem there, but only if you looked at it the right way. I imagine tourists and museum workers must have missed it for years, not having mastered the trick of expecting something that didn't exist. Aang did some subtle airbending, knocked it down, and tucked it in his pocket with the first one. I half-expected sparks, but the two stones did nothing but lie next to each other, glowing faintly. "Okay," said the Avatar. "Now where are we going?"

"The forgotten borough," I answered. "We're getting on the Staten Island Ferry."

We called Katara and Toph to check up on them; they reported Toph had thought she glimpsed Sokka a few times, but they didn't have anything concrete yet. So after letting them know where we were headed, we left the Museum behind and jumped a train downtown to South Ferry.


	7. Of Gryphons and Guilt

_The madness continues... I'm updating every day, as I've mentioned before. Should be done by the end of the week._

_In tangential response to a review (yay, reviews, how they make me happy) I personally have rationalized why Zuko is so quick to accept Liz, but I never state it explicitly. Liz, on the other hand, is just as confused as anyone else. First person narratives make controlling the flow of information quick and easy!_

_I hope the story continues to be interesting! Avatar still isn't mine, alas... actually, I wouldn't trust me with it, so that's probably a good thing._

_~Taidine _

Chapter Seven : Of Gryphons and Guilt

"_Reality: That annoying thing that stands between me and happiness."_

It is a very long, boring train ride down to the ferry. No one seemed much in the mood to talk, with the exception of Sean and Ty Lee, who seemed to have developed a deep rapport over the course of the last half hour. I was a little surprised the boy came with us. I mean, I know Ty Lee's pretty and all, but I would never have done something like that for a stranger (Zuko doesn't count). Sean shrugged it off, explaining he had been alone at the Museum anyway and the bones were getting boring. His parents must be a good deal more permissive than mine.

Time for another quick geography lesson. New York City has five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. When a person from out of town hears 'New York City,' they usually think of Manhattan. That's where the big tourist attractions are, for the most part: Time Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, the Empire State Building. The other boroughs are not quite as intensely urban, and Staten Island comes near suburbia. It's to the south of the city, and the farther south you go once on the island, the more like New Jersey it becomes. On the South Shore, they're bulldozing swaths of forest to put up semis. On the North Shore, there are apartment buildings. In between it runs the gamut; there are some nice houses around, manors and the like built by rich city dwellers back when Staten Island was a vacation spot. There are also some really hideous strip malls and housing complexes.

I know all this because I used to have a friend who lived on Staten Island, somewhere in the middle, near the infamous Staten Island Dump (a really horrible landfill most of the city-dwellers make fun of, which can reputedly be seen from space, and which has been defunct for years – I hear rumors they want to turn it into a park). She moved to New Jersey, so I haven't been out here in a while. But I had extensive experience with the Staten Island Ferries, a set of big orange boats that go between Manhattan and Staten Island every half an hour, or every twenty minutes during rush hour. They take about that long to cross the harbor, passing the Statue of Liberty and Governer's Island; then everyone gets off, the commuters go home, and the tourists head around to get back on and go into the city again.

We caught a three-thirty boat out of the city; I found myself wondering how late I could stay out before my mother called my cell phone, demanding I be home five minutes ago. Ty Lee found an open space in the middle of one of the decks to put on an impromptu performance; Aang sat down to watch, or meditate, or something; and Sean pulled off his 'I love NY' cap and began passing it around. Zuko slouched up the stairs towards the top deck; with a furtive look at the rest of the gang, I followed.

Most of the seats on the boat are inside, but on this particular ferry there was a band of benches outside; by the time I made it up the stairs, the doors between the two sections were sliding shut behind the firebender. I hesitated a moment, then pushed them open.

Zuko had found a railing to lean on, and the brisk sea breeze ruffled his dark hair; he was staring off over the ocean in profile, so I couldn't quite see his scar. The scene was so reminiscent of the show, albeit with the ungainly ferry standing in for a ship of the Fire Nation navy, that I couldn't stop myself. I took two steps towards him. "Are you cold?"

He turned, golden eyes wide, and I glimpsed for a second that trembling vulnerability he usually kept so well hidden; then he recognized me, and his face darkened, expression locking up like a bank vault. "I thought you were…" he began, and turned back to the ocean, muttering. "Someone else."

I took another two steps and joined him at the railing. "Mai," I said. "Yeah, that was cruel of me." I don't think I sounded too apologetic, though.

He took a deep breath, let it out. "I know I'm doing the right thing," he said. "I know it's my destiny to help the Avatar. But I can't stop thinking of her. She got dragged into this mess because of me, and now I can't even find her, let alone help her."

"Oh, I think Mai can take care of herself," I said darkly.

"Not if she doesn't know who she is," said Zuko, easily matching me for deadpan seriousness. He stared out over the ocean for a moment longer, then announced to no one in particular, "I'm not going back without her."

"Don't worry, Aang and company are a compassionate bunch," I said, not as though it were a good thing. "They'll probably agree with you."

"I know, I know" said Zuko, sighing. "I'll tell them. Eventually."

"_Attention all passengers. The ferry will be docking shortly," _blared a voice from the strategically placed loudspeakers. _"Please stay off all stairs, ramps, and landings until the ferry has come to a complete stop at the terminal…"_

I turned my head quickly, looking away from Zuko, at the looming shape of the Staten Island ferry terminal. "We're docking," I said. "We should get back inside."

But what I was thinking was, _I asked if you were cold, not for your girlfriend woes._ His golden eyes were soft when he talked about Mai, his expression relaxed, almost dreamy. She couldn't possibly have any idea, wherever and whoever she was, how much I envied her at that moment.

I had to put that aside, though, and try to concentrate on the Gryphon conundrum. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Staten Island is not encyclopedic enough that I knew where I could find the Gryphon; no sculptures or exhibits had immediately sprung to mind upon hearing the clues in the first place, and ideas continued to elude me as I walked back inside the boat and downstairs to where the rest of the gang was congregating. The Phoenix had said the orange boat would take us near, so I assumed it was somewhere on the North Shore, but that's a pretty big area to cover.

As the ferry boat was coming in to dock at the terminal, and our portion of Team Avatar regrouped – Zuko sulking, Aang looking serious, Ty Lee beaming and Sean splitting up the money he had collected between them – I happened to mention this.

"You couldn't have told us a little earlier?" Zuko growled. I think he was mad at me for stealing Mai's line, or listening to him rant, or something.

Help came from an unexpected quarter – Sean, shoving some change in the pocket of his jeans and flattening his bleach-blonde hair under his 'I love NY' cap. "Not a problem," he assured the team.

We all looked at him. "Hey, I can be helpful too. Check it. Google Earth." He was wearing a backpack, small and unnoticeable, and now he unslung it, dipping a hand in to produce a Sidekick. Of course. The internet. I had never owned a wi-fi connected gadget, and had never wanted to, so okay, kudos to Sean: he had thought of something that never would have occurred to me.

"Wow!" said Ty Lee gratuitously, and Sean gave her a little, flourishing bow. Hams, both of them.

We left the boat, swept along by the inexorable crowd, and found a quiet spot in the corner of the terminal. Sean accessed the internet while we all looked over his shoulders (or in my case, his head – yes, I am that tall, and he's not). "Okay. I'll zoom in as close as possible and scan the area around the ferry," he told us. The Sidekick was painfully slow.

"What if it's inside?" asked Aang. "The Pheonix and the Sphinx were."

"But the eagle wasn't," I pointed out. "It's better than nothing. If this doesn't work, we can try to 'places of knowledge' angle. There can't be that many of them on Staten Island…" It was an automatic jibe. Understand – people in the more urban boroughs are obligated to make fun of Staten Island.

"Got something!" Sean exclaimed. "Who's the master of the internet?"

"Um… isn't the internet kind of a collective?" asked Aang. Looked like he was still holding on to Michael's memories, but I didn't dare get my hopes up. He had only been with us for a day – a long, long day.

"Me!" said Sean, utterly failing to notice. "Look at this, would you?"

We looked.

"It's a smudge of some kind," said Zuko tentatively.

"It's a gryphon," said Sean. "Look, there's the head, there are the wings…" He traced the shape on his tiny screen with one finger. "Anyway, it's right next to a branch of the New York Public Library," he added, checking a minute display in one corner. "That must be it."

I guess the others had more or less filled him in on what was going on during the train and boat ride.

"Nice," Aang admitted.

"Thank you," said Sean, ducking his head. "So, what are we waiting for?"

"Ty Lee to get back from the bathroom," Zuko grumbled.

Oh. I knew it had been too quiet.

Ty Lee returned shortly, and we set out from the terminal, navigating via Sean's map. The library wasn't far away, two or three blocks uphill from the ferry terminal. I think I had been to it once or twice, during those Staten Island visits, and was more than a little disgruntled that I hadn't figured this out on my own – that it had taken this raw newcomer to locate the next guardian. Or maybe I was just irritated at Sean for being all lovey-dovey with Ty Lee. Most of the time, couples irk me.

Anyway, after hiking up a steep hill along a confusingly twisted street, we found ourselves in front of the library. The most famous New York Public Library is in Manhattan (of course); it has a vast marble staircase and a pair of lions flanking the doors. The St. George branch of the library, the one we had been sent to, was not nearly so grand: a long, low brick building with concrete steps up to the wooden double-doors and a handicap ramp. There was no Gryphon on the building, but a three-sixty degree turn quickly located the statues Sean had spotted on Google Earth – a single grotesque, part lion and part eagle, perched atop the roof of a crayon-red brick building across the street.

We looked both ways and crossed the street. "I guess I'm going up," said Aang, surveying the building, cockeyed. "Can someone call Katara and check up on her?"

"Sure," I volunteered. I had Kat's number in my contacts list; I scrolled down to it and hit 'send.' Aang took a few steps back on the sidewalk, rubbed his hands together, and looked around to see if there were any strangers watching. The sidewalk was clear, and I doubted it would be a problem anyway. People saw what they expected to see, after all.

"Okay," muttered the Avatar, took a bounding step forward, and sprang up to a low windowsill, spinning air behind him for lift. I imagine it would have been easier with his glider, but we didn't have that luxury. Two more deft leaps took him to the top of the building.

The phone rang twice before Katara picked up. "Hello? Liz?"

"Hey," I greeted dully. "We're on Staten Island, meeting the second guardian. How are you doing?"

"We've got him," said Katara. She didn't sound as excited as it seemed she should. "Toph's sure of it. We're heading down to meet you."

"Okay," I acknowledged.

Atop the building, Aang moved close to the Gryphon and bowed low, reaching into the pocket of his jeans for the pair of Amulet fragments he had already recovered. They shone dully, red and green mingling like a Christmas tree, and in their light, the stone Gryphon shook out its feathers.

"I'm about to lose service…" she said. I could hear subway-like sounds from around her, and then nothing. Frankly, if she was on a train, I'm surprised she got any reception at all.

I folded my cell phone and put it away. Aang and the Gryphon were conversing; they bowed again, and the gryphon folded itself back into its former, frozen position. Aang jumped off the edge of the roof, spreading his arms to increase air resistance and landing lightly on the sidewalk in front of us. "Oof. Kind of harder to bend here, isn't it?" he asked conversationally, rising and brushing himself off.

"So- where are we going next?" asked Ty Lee excitedly.

"Well, the Gryphon told me the next fragment is in the library – 'among the books.'" He mimicked a deep, sibilant voice as he quoted the Gryphon. "And the next guardian is the Kraken in… 'King's County, watching the sea lions.' By sea lions, does he mean actual sea lions, or is there some kind of weird sea lion around here?"

"They're like seals," I answered, wondering if this signified a lapse in Michael's knowledge or the beginning of the end of Aang's borrowed memories. I checked for cars again and lead the way across the street, back towards the library.

"King's county, sea lions," said Sean, flipping open the ubiquitous Sidekick. "Hm. Service isn't very good here." We strolled along the sidewalk, up the steps, and into the building in a big amorphous group.

"Don't bother," I answered flatly. "We're going to the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn."

They all stopped in the middle of the fiction second to look at me. "Okay, I'm stumped," said Aang. "How'd you figure that out?"

"King's County is an old name for Brooklyn," I explained. "That's where I live. My parents must have dragged me to the zoo a hundred times when I was younger, and trust me, it has sea lions. Now, where's the fragment?"

"Um…" Aang spun around slowly. "Upstairs? The Gryphon said something else… that each fragment is tied to one element." We headed for the stairs, walked slowly up them. "So – the Sphinx was earth, the Pheonix was fire. Then the Gryphon must be air… so we want to go up. Does that make sense?"

"Yes?" Ty Lee agreed.

We got upstairs, to the children's section. Aang made a beeline for the nonfiction section, and after a moment, I picked out a faint yellow glow – emanating, it soon became apparent, from behind the 500's. Books on weather. Clever. Sean pulled a couple of books out, Aang reached behind them and tapped the wall, which shimmered slightly and allowed his hand through. He produced a clear amber crystal, several shades paler then Zuko's eyes (he still wasn't looking at me, by the by, and I wondered absently what exactly I had done to upset him so); it went in his pocket with the other two fragments, and once again, anything utterly failed to happen.

I checked my cell phone impatiently. "People, the next ferry leaves in five minutes, and the fastest way to Brooklyn is through Manhattan," I drawled, letting none of my urgency show. "We should go."

"Come on, then!" exclaimed Ty Lee, and tore off, attracting some dirty looks from the librarians. Soon she was running down the hill outside, arms slightly extended, braid streaming behind her. The rest of the group charged after her, for the most part with somewhat more dignity.

Down the hill, across a busy street, past the bus pickups, and into the terminal; we put on a burst of speed and made it through the closing doors onto the ferry. "Phew," said Sean, wiping his arm across his forehead as we came to a panting halt on the deck of the boat.

"We should let Katara know not to get on a boat from Manhattan," said Aang anxiously, then brightened. "Hey, when you said sea lions were like seals, did you mean turtleseals or tigerseals?"

I talked about sea lions for a bit, we found some empty seats, and Ty Lee began walking down the aisle on her hands. Another boring boat ride, I thought.

It's always a stupid idea to make assumptions.


	8. Of Sokka and Serpents

_So, I missed a day again. Which means two chapters today, which ends things on a nice cliffhanger._

_Disclaimer and whatnot._

_~Taidine_

Chapter Eight : Of Sokka and Serpents

"_What you don't know can't hurt you."_

The first ten minutes were indeed as boring as I anticipated. Ty Lee and Sean did their circus routine again, winning a few dollars and a lot of attention – which I suspect was the more important form of profit – from the other passengers on the boat. Aang sat and watched, looking fairly entertained; Zuko did not look entertained, but stayed put. For a while I alternated between watching Ty Lee do backflips and watching Zuko sulk, until he noticed me and looked up, golden eyes glaring from under a fringe of dark, shaggy hair. Still mad, for whatever reason. But then, I had never gotten the impression he was overly fond of me.

So I decided to go outside, get some air. I grabbed my tote bag, full of maps and other potentially useful things, and walked out, finding an empty seat at a bench overlooking the ocean. The water was ruffled and dark, green and blue in mottled patches; the sky was darkening. What time was it, four o'clock, four thirty? It couldn't be sunset, but a great billow of cloud was rolling in, and the air smelled like rain.

I began working out some mental calculations. It would be five by the time we got back to Brooklyn, and my parents would be greatly annoyed if I returned any time past seven. But if each of the fragments were tied to an element, then there should only be four. Maybe the zoo would be our last stop, and the whole hectic, madcap adventure would be over, just like that. Three days of insanity that I would remember for the rest of my life. Quite frankly, I didn't want it to end; I wondered idly if there was any way I could return with the gang, live in their world.

They wouldn't be leaving right away, though – I really didn't think they would leave Mai behind, not with her being a good guy and all now. Ty Lee would back Zuko up, they were friends. That gave me a little more time. And what about Azula? So they'd have to stay at least one more night. Where was I going to put them up? I couldn't sneak all six of them into my apartment… wait, maybe seven. What was Sean planning to do?

That was approximately when I noticed the water was doing something odd.

Several feet off the side of the boat, a portion of the ocean had begun to bubble and froth, swirling around itself like the miniature whirlpools that form around the drain when you let out water from a bathtub. I focused on the motion, trying to follow it and determine what on earth could be causing it. It didn't seem alarming, just interesting; I rose to my feet, clutching my tote bag, and ambled over to the railing for a better view. Some of the tourists on the deck had noticed as well; one snapped a picture before moving on.

As I stared, it became apparent that there was something in the center of the spinning water, something dark and solid and rapidly rising from the water. The more I looked, the more obvious it seemed to become; then, quite suddenly, it broke the surface.

It was somewhat fishlike, and somewhat monkeylike, a flat face surrounded by curls of tentacle-hairs, twisting and dripping and spiraling; the high, squashed nose and too-wide mouth would have looked almost mammalian, if they hadn't been thrust forward and bristling with outward-facing teeth. And its eyes were pure ichthyian, wide, motionless plates with distorted pupils and solid silver irises.

I took one look, decided discretion is the better part of valor, and ran inside to fetch the benders.

Ty Lee was standing amidst a crowd of onlookers, one leg raised into the air at a one-hundred-eighty degree with the other, arms above her head. I shoved into the gathered audience and found Aang and Zuko, near the front. "Aang," I said. "You know how the eagle said there would be vagrant spirits after you?" My voice sounded more or less calm, but I assure you, I was scared stiff.

"Yeah?" said Aang.

The boat pitched suddenly to one side. I reached out a hand to steady myself and grabbed the first thing it met, which happened to be Zuko's arm. Oops. I let go as though it burned.

"I think one of them just found us," I said.

The boat juddered again. Aang frowned. "Come on," he said at me and Zuko, and turned towards the outside deck. Ty Lee, bending backward into a bridge, caught an upside-down glimpse of us leaving, cartwheeled to her feet, and quickly followed, gesturing Sean to come as well.

We dashed out through the doors. The water had gone calm again; I stared into the depths, searching for it. A dark, serpentine shape seemed faintly visible, coiling in figure eights around the bottom of the boat – but maybe I was imagining it, searching too hard for patterns. "I don't…" Aang began.

The boat tilted again, tossing tourists against each other and knocking Aang to the deck. I landed on the bench, painfully. There was a great gurgling splash, and then, thrusting up from the depths, the enormous fish-monkey head of the creature I had glimpsed. Its tentacles dripped; it opened its mouth, distending its jaw horribly and revealing a forest of translucent, cartilaginous teeth. The sound it made was more a shriek than a roar; and then it plunged its head forward, directly for Aang as though planning to scarf down the Avatar like a sardine.

"Sea serpent!" he exclaimed, and jumped out of the way. It jammed its nose on the deck and recovered, eyes a blankly malevolent green. As he stood, Aang pulled off his backpack, holding it up in one hand and returning the serpent's glare. It lunged again, mouth gaping; Aang lobbed the backpack and twisted into an airbending stance, flinging out one arm to give the pack extra speed. It rammed into the monster's throat, making the thing recoil, the gills and tentacles on the sides of its neck flaring and convulsing. But it still looked ready to attack, fish eyes full of fury; it swallowed visibly and once again lunged forward, neck uncoiling from the water (it seemed to be all slimy-scaled neck beneath its misshapen head). Zuko took a step, flicking one hand forward, palm flat; a whiplike line of flame lashed out, scoring a long line along the serpent's damp scales. It froze in mid lunge, gave a horrible cry of pain, and sank back into the water.

"Phew." Aang leaned on his knees, breathing. "Well, that wasn't too tough, was it?"

Zuko relaxed from his firebending stance, hands dropping to his sides. "Guess not."

I looked around; the tourists around us on the deck hadn't even glanced twice at the monster, or Aang and Zuko doing what amounted, around here at least, to magic. Right. You see what you're prepared to see.

"I dunno…" said Sean cautiously. He was hiding behind Ty Lee near the doors onto the deck. "It still looked kind of upset."

No sooner had he spoken than the boat shuddered violently under us. Several of the tourists were dropped; an angry murmur rose among them, questioning and cautious. The veteran commuters, of whom there were some at this hour, held their peace and their seats, but most of the vacationers and amateur photographers began heading inside. The boat rocked again, and they were forced to grab railings and doorframes on their way in.

"Oh," said Aang. "I think we just made it mad." He leaned out over the railing; the boat pitched almost vertical, and I glimpsed dark, slimy skin.

"That fire hurt it," said Zuko, blowing bangs out of his face. He had one hand on the railing as well, to keep balanced.

"Right," Sean agreed, sounding only slightly hysterical. He was holding a bench; Ty Lee was holding him, although she probably didn't need to. "So now it's going to get us down into the water with it before it goes after us. Can you throw fire underwater?" Zuko shook his head. "Didn't think so."

"Well, I'm open to…" the boat rocked, and Aang broke off, hands convulsing around the railing. "…suggestions."

"We need to lure it out of the water so Zuko can hit it with that flame thingy," said Sean instantly. He was, it would seem, adjusting to the oddities of bending and spirit-monsters with the greatest of ease.

Aang nodded resolutely. "On it," he said. "Can I borrow your hoodie?"

Sean obliged. Aang fastened the zipper around his waist, spread the fleecy fabric from his outstretched arms like wings, and dove off the side of the boat before any of us could so much as say 'wait!'

A gust of wind caught him just short of the water's surface, and he skimmed across the waves like a seabird. "Hey! Serpent! Look, a delicious airbender, right here!"

There was a moment of heart-stopping stillness, then the surface of the water broke, and the serpent's head lunged forward. Aang swooped out of the way, barely missing the edges of those extended teeth; the serpent dove back down, a bulge of dark green. We got a view of its whole length, down to its tail, a broad, oarlike fin, which slapped against the water with an almighty splash.

Aang dove again, and this time when the serpent launched itself after him, Zuko was ready, firing a jet of flame, but the monster was too quick, and Aang was not quite quick enough to give him a clear shot. That hoodie couldn't be the ideal way to capture air.

The monster lashed its tail at him, sending up a plume of water; Zuko managed to singe it across the end, but I noticed the hoodie was getting damp – and the damper it got, the more sluggish Aang's flight became. Dip, snap. Flame burnt a furrow across the surface of the water, but the serpent had already vanished. "Aang, you have to get out of the way faster!" Zuko commanded, looking out over the water with fierce concentration. He held himself in a ready stance, every muscle taut.

"I can't dodge any more quickly!" Aang replied frantically. The serpent's head broke the water, and he managed to barrel roll out of the way. The creature went down, and Aang went lower, nearly touching the water as he waited for its tail to break.

Without warning, something else broke the surface – a long, leaf-rayed fin, flat and heavy as the creature turned on its side. It slapped wetly against Aang and kept turning, knocking him to the surface of the water.

Zuko swore and vaulted over the edge of the railing, plunging towards the water, hands wreathed in flame. Ty Lee did a neater vault, some kind of rapid handstand flip. And before I could think better of it, I had followed them over the side.

Brilliant. I'm not even a good swimmer.

I pointed my toes, ready to hit the surface of the water.

My feet, however, met something hard and solid. My legs buckled under me and I went tumbling, sprawling across something freezing cold and slippery. What-

Ice?

I dared look up. Not far away was a second ferry, this one headed towards Staten Island – they usually cross paths during rush hour. A bridge of solid ice stretched across the water between the two ferries, and racing across it, arms above her head, hair loops flying in the sea breeze, was Katara.

She moved smoothly, a swaying waterbending motion that made the ice rise under her, tilting it into a slope; I realized what she was doing as she began to slide down towards us, picking up speed as she went. She balanced easily and turned her attention to the portion of the ocean that remained water, lowering and raising her hands as though mimicking waves. The water next to me responded instantly, rising in a twisted column that contained both the coiled lengths of the serpent and a waterlogged Aang. A sweeping sideways motion from Katara sent them both sprawling on the ice, water draining away under them. "Now!" she shouted.

Zuko, who had landed not far from me, shook his head groggily. He was mere yards from the serpent's massive head. It fixed its eyes eagerly on him.

I had something in my hand, an ice shard. I whirled, stepped forward, lobbed it at the serpent, all smooth and unconscious.

It lifted its head and lunged towards Zuko…

…who pushed himself to his feet quicker then I would have thought possible and threw his hands up in a messy but effective bending move. Fire exploded forward, engulfing the creature's tentacled head; it gave a cry of pain that should have split my eardrums and hurled itself at the open water, sinking into the depths in a great cloud of steam as the flames were extinguished.

Zuko sank to his knees again; Katara came to a stop just past him, where Aang lay prone, and dropped into a crouch. "Aang?"

He coughed and turned his head, wet hair plastering itself to his cheek. "Ow," he managed.

Katara let out a vast sigh of relief.

"Hey!" Ty Lee exclaimed. She and Sean were treading water next to Katara's ice bridge; she pulled herself onto the ice and dragged him up after her. He had lost his 'I love NY' baseball cap. "You found Sokka!"

I looked behind Katara. Stomping along the ice bridge was Toph's short, solid form; she was followed by a taller, slimmer male figure.

"Kind of," Toph said in answer, giving Ty Lee an unfriendly look; her clouded eyes didn't actually lock on the gymnast, missing her by several feet. I guess on ice she couldn't sense much.

"We can explain on the boat," said Katara, surveying us in all our damp, bruised glory. She gestured, and the ice bridge melted, leaving only the narrow flow we stood on; another, more exaggerated gesture summoned a jet of water, bringing us level with the deck railing. One after another, we stepped back onto the ferry.

The outer deck was abandoned; I glanced quickly in the window. Most of the passengers were gathered around a crew member, probably demanding an explanation for all this rocking. Lucky break for us. We took over the benches.

"We're going to Brooklyn," said Aang to the newly arrived trio.

"Good thing we caught your boat, then," said Katara.

"So?" Aang prompted, then looked at the newcomer. I followed his gaze. The boy Toph and Katara had dragged along with them did have a certain Sokka-ness about his appearance, with dark skin and darker hair, but he looked far too confused – he must not have… what were we calling it? Jolted? Snapped?

"Oh, hi," said the boy, waving. "Name's Alex. I'm kind of here under threat of, um…" He looked at Toph. "What was it again?"

"Buried alive, hung off the top of a brownstone, or trapped in one of those Central Park rocks until the squirrels eat you, take your pick," she said, sounding bored.

"Right. But I don't think I'm your guy." He sounded stoked. Stoner? A lot of the skaters did drugs of some kind.

"Earthbending doesn't lie," said Toph. "Although…" She looked over me, Aang, Ty Lee, Zuko, and Sean, clouded eyes unseeing.

"What?" asked Katara.

"Nothing," answered the earthbender.

Ty Lee batted her eyelashes at Alex. Sean scowled and moved closer to her.

"_Attention all passengers. The ferry will be docking shortly," _said the loudspeakers.

Well, this was going to be fun.


	9. Of Subways and Snogging

Chapter Nine : Of Subways and Snogging

"_When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."_

Katara and Toph filled us in on how they had tracked down Sokka; it wasn't a very elaborate story, but it did manage to keep us entertained for the first half of our train ride. It is a rather long train ride into Brooklyn, especially with the transfers – and if I haven't mentioned it already, let me tell you now. Subways do not run well on the weekend.

That said, here is how the story goes.

Toph and Katara sat at Columbus Circle for some time after we left. Exactly what they did to entertain themselves is not entirely clear; talked about girly things and did each other's hair, for all I know. Toph kept her feet to the ground, a metaphorical eye on the skateboarders. She was sure she had seen Sokka before, and hoped he hadn't left. If they were lucky, she figured he'd fall of his skateboard and they'd have him.

Katara went out to get them lunch around noon; Toph thought she might have picked up Sokka again, but didn't dare go after him. The skateboards rattling and bouncing around on the concrete of the Circle was her equivalent of static on a television screen – not ideal conditions to try and walk through. At any rate, he disappeared again, not as if he walked off (which would have been a sort of fade), but sharply, as if he had climbed back on a board.

The skateboarders packed it in around three o'clock in the afternoon, about when we got on the ferry for Staten Island. Toph immediately picked up Sokka again. "There," she said, pointing. Katara ran over to the group of skateboarders.

"Um… hello?"

"Hello?" said one. "Do I know you?"

Katara looked for backup. "Toph, which one?"

Toph pointed again, to the dark-haired skater who had spoken. "Him," she said as though delivering a death sentence.

"Um, me? I didn't do it!" he said in mock consternation.

Katara sighed and gave Toph a Look; the younger girl was being a little harsher then she would like. "It's okay, you're not in trouble," she told the boy with a smile. "Could we speak to you for a moment?"

He looked at his friends. One of them sniggered, another muttered something about 'confessing her love.' With a shrug and an "okay," he followed Katara over to the edge of the Circle, where the splashing of the fountain hid their conversation. "Look," she said. "I don't know any easy way to put this, but… your name is Sokka, and you're my brother."

He raised his eyebrows. "My name is Alex and I'm an only child," he corrected. "Am I supposed to play along? Is this some sort of hidden camera thing?" He looked at her suspiciously and bent his head, looking around Katara as though there might be a hidden camera behind her back.

Katara sighed. "No. You lost your memory when you came through a portal to this world. We all did. But you're not from here, whatever you're thinking right now. I know it's confusing, but I can prove it."

Alex gave up his search for hidden cameras. "Really?"

Katara nodded solemnly and turned her attention to the fountain behind her; with a frown of concentration, she positioned herself in a waterbending stance and swayed her arms. A single jet of water rocketed high into the air and froze solid, into a crystal spire.

"Um. That's. Very cool," said Alex, staring upward. "No pun intended. But… can I maybe do this later? I don't want to keep them waiting…" he thrust his chin in the direction of the other skaters "…and I'm kind of…"

As he tried to sidle away, Toph lost patience, stomped one foot, and extended her arm. Part of the low stone wall in front of the fountain tore into its component bricks and rose up between Alex and the other skaters, hovering solid and unsupported in the air. "Listen, dope-for-brains. It's not all pretty sparklies. This is dead serious. Either you come with us easy, or I pound you until you remember every last detail. Got it?"

He stopped sidling. "Okay, I don't think we have to get violent here."

Toph smiled and gestured negligently; the bricks re-piled themselves. "Good. I didn't really want to hurt you, Sokka." Her grin was downright sadistic, though.

"Where are we going?" he ventured.

"The subway station, to start with," answered Toph.

It was around then that our group called to check in for the second time. Katara, Toph, and Alex got on a train to South Ferry; they caught him up on what was going on; and that brings us to now.

I half expected Alex to run away every time the train stopped, but as I had observed earlier, he seemed kind of out of it, high on whatever the skater-boy drug of choice is at the moment. I imagine this made it easier for him to just go along with the whole thing – but if we were counting on Sokka's sharp wit to get us out of any jams, then we were pretty much sunk.

We reached the Flatbush Avenue stop and piled out of the train; it was a straight shot up the block and to the zoo entrance. It was getting late, but it seemed we had at least half an hour before the place closed, so although the person taking tickets gave us a strange look as we paid admissions – Ty Lee and Sean tapped into their funds from the ferry performances, which was good, because what I had brought was nearly out – we got in easily enough.

The sea lions at the Prospect Park Zoo are in the center, a round tank filled with water the animals swim through like graceful torpedoes and rocks they lie on to bask, torpid brown lumps. Aang stopped at the tank for a minute to look at them. "Weird," was his final verdict. "I wonder if you could ride one?"

"Not now," said Katara.

"I know not now. Just… for future reference."

Set all around the sea lion tank are various buildings, containing the indoor animals; some of them have doors out the back to more outdoor exhibits, the barn or the Discovery Trail. I was thinking feverishly of what kinds of statues or sculptures the zoo might have that could be the Kraken; perhaps it was in fact inhabiting a live animal. We walked the perimeter of the courtyard, surveying all the buildings.

"There," said Aang.

Oh. I had forgotten about those… how is quite beyond me. He was pointing down a long cobbled path that lead to another zoo entrance. It was lined by massive mesh-and wire sculptures: a frog. A lizard. An octopus.

We trudged up the path, to where the octopus tentacles flared from the ground, solid lengths of metal painted cheap, institutional green; Aang pulled out the three fragments he had collected so far, green and yellow and crimson on his palm, and extended them. Where their mingled light hit the metal, it seemed to soften and flex like muscle under skin; quite suddenly, all the tentacles of the beast convulsed, and a fleshy head rose out of the pavement, which rippled behind it like water. Its voice was hoarse and gurgling as it greeted Aang with the same terseness of its counterparts. "Avatar."

Aang bowed. "I'm looking for the final fragment of the Amulet of the Four Elements," he said. "And I need to know how to use it to get home. Please…"

The squidlike head of the Kraken settled against the pavement, which had gone solid again, and its beaklike mouth worked. "The final fragment lies in the lion's waters. But your second request is more difficult. The Amulet must be quickened by bending of all four elements; the instructions are writ in glass in the final borough. Take the second train."

"Thank you," said Aang. "Is there… anything else I should know?"

The Kraken blinked slowly. "Leave no one behind. This world and yours are not meant to mingle for long. The barriers are too thin already."

Again, the pavement rippled, and the Kraken's head sank once more below the ground. Its tentacles flailed like a medusa for a moment, then stilled, fading back to metal.

I turned over the words in my mind. There was only one borough we hadn't been to yet – the Bronx – so I was ready to wager whatever we were looking for was there somewhere, but that was a big place to look. Writ on glass… the second train…

There were a couple of conversations going on around me. To the front, Aang addressed Katara and Zuko: "We can't leave anyone behind. That means Azula, too. We have to find her and make her come back with us, somehow."

"And Mai," said Zuko fervently. Well, he had said he'd talk to them about that…

Behind me, Ty Lee was leaning on the arm of Alex-the-stoner. "Sokka… don't you think that was scary?" she sighed. His responses were halfhearted at best, but she kept talking at him until Sean broke in:

"Hey! What's so great about this Sokka guy, anyway?"

I think he said it more loudly then he had meant to, because everyone in the group turned their attention on him. "Um," he muttered. "So. Y'know, I should probably be getting home now…" He took several steps backwards, turned, and darted for one of the buildings.

"Wait!" Ty Lee called unexpectedly, releasing Alex, and tore off after him.

"I'll go keep an eye on them," I muttered. "You go get the last fragment. Sea lion tank, I think."

"Yeah, we got that," said Zuko.

I headed for the building Sean had taken shelter in and managed to track the pair of them to the monkey exhibit, a large room with uneven walls of fake stone and a set of steps leading down to a sheet of glass. On the other side, a troop of baboons go about their business in an outdoor enclosure; on this side, Sean and Ty Lee were standing next to a clump of fake rocks, talking. They were quite uninterested in the baboons and even failed to notice me, so I took a fairly hidden seat behind a pillar dressed up as a stalactite and watched the drama unfold.

"…you don't even know him?" Sean was saying. "So how can you flirt with him like that?"

Ty Lee swung herself up onto a rock and crouched there, braid hanging over her shoulder. "It's easy. Look, you're not going to ask me to choose between you, are you Sean?" She batted her long lashes.

"It's the normal thing to do," he pointed out.

She flipped over on her back and giggled, clearly more flattered by all the attention than intending to take this seriously – although Sean was as earnest as I'd ever seen him. I'm always a bit surprised when boys of his ilk manage to be earnest. "I don't really know you, either," said Ty Lee.

"Well, yeah…" Sean allowed. "But I did try to save you from that seamonster."

Ty Lee crossed her arms over her chest, mock-stern, which is a hard thing to pull off when you're looking at someone upside-down as you hang half way off a fake rock. "I almost drowned pulling you out of the water afterwards."

"True… but you have to admit it was a good try."

She giggled again.

Sean sighed in defeat and turned away, as though to walk off.

"Psst!" Ty Lee hissed, trying to catch his attention. He turned back.

"What now?" he asked suspiciously.

She whispered something, but Sean shook his head. "Sorry, can't hear you," he said, leaning closer. "What-"

His face was about an inch away from hers; she lifted her head a little bit from the rock and kissed him – upside down, Spiderman-style, a mischievous smile on her lips.

I winced, but couldn't look away. It was like watching a car wreck. You feel guilty for it, but try as you might, not watching it is impossible. So I saw the full run of expressions that washed across Sean's face. Startlement, then pleasure as he leaned into the kiss; then, utter confusion. Then revulsion.

With a cry, he pulled away, shoving a fist against his mouth. "Gah! I- you- kiss- no…" he sputtered.

Ty Lee flipped herself upright, leaning on her elbows and looking hurt again. "What's wrong?"

"You're the crazy girl who works with Azula, that's what's wrong! And I told you before, I'm with Suki! Who would kill me if she found out about this! And she could, too!" He was spazzing out in a way that was only too familiar; I think Ty Lee and I realized what was going on at about the same time.

Grey eyes sparkling with indignation and betrayal, Ty Lee rose into a crouch. "_You're _Sokka?"

Sean rubbed a hand over his bleach-blonde hair which, I realized for the first time, was actually quite dark at the roots, and took a step back. "Yes?" he hazarded. Ty Lee's face trembled. "Look, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you, I just…" he began hurriedly.

"How could you?!" Ty Lee shouted, and sprang down from the rocks, racing away, tears flying from her eyes.

"Oh. Great," said Sokka.

"Give her a minute to cool down," I suggested flatly.

"Gah! Where'd you come from?" he asked as I leaned around the pillar.

I was saved from answering as, with a pattering of feet, the rest of the gang came into the baboon exhibit. "We got the fragment," Katara began, but broke off suddenly. "Sokka?"

Sean waved amicably.

"But…" she rounded on Toph. "You said Alex was him!"

I was just glad she didn't point out I was the one who had said Sokka would be a skater in the first place. Toph seemed to wilt a little under her glare; she looked down at her bare toes. "Well, Sean looked kind of like him too, but I didn't want to say anything. Look, there's a lot of metal and concrete and noise and weird tunnels around here, I'm not infallible, okay?"

I focused on adjusting my perceptions, to stop expecting Sean and look for Sokka instead. I had just about managed it, in time to see his mouth drop open. "You're not infallible? Katara, are you sure she's who she says she is?"

"Shut up, Sidekick," Toph told him.

Alex leaned around the back of the group. "Does this mean I can go home?"

Katara sighed. "Well, I guess this worked out in our favor. I think we're all pretty tired, so let's just find Ty Lee and get out of here, okay?"

I watched Alex sidle off, then turn and start running in the opposite direction. Yeah, everything _had _worked out in our favor. It seemed almost _too_ neat.

That was when someone screamed.


	10. Of Woodchips and Wallabies

Chapter Ten : Of Woodchips and Wallabies

"_I, however, don't like to eliminate the impossible."_

We all turned towards the source of the sound. It had come from outside the building; I happened to know that this meant the Discovery Trail, an odd little winding trail with enclosures for animals who can withstand the outdoors and activities for kids – birds' nests to sit in, lily pads to hop on, that sort of thing. There had been a time in my childhood when I was quite taken with it, but at this time of year it tended to be pretty empty. I also happened to know that when Ty Lee had taken off, she had been going in that direction.

"Ty Lee," said Zuko, confirming my fears.

"We can't leave anyone behind," said Aang, as though this had been on his mind already.

"So what are we waiting for?" asked Sokka, and took off. I guess some of Sean's affection for the acrobat still lingered. At any rate, we followed. Past the baboons, which were clustered around the glass watching us as though they knew something interesting were going on. Out the back doors and down the Discovery Trail. Prairie dogs poked their heads up out of their holes to watch us, and ducks scattered as we crossed a pond via a wooden bridge; we sprang from fake wooden lily pad to lily pad, ducked under the porcupine tree, and rattled through a gate in a chain link fence to the wallaby and kangaroo enclosure.

I always rather liked this exhibit. One actually walks into the area in which the marsupials live, along a narrow path; the only thing that keeps the animals and you from touching is their own instincts and a thin rope that encourages you not to go wandering into the meadow where they spend most of their time. The man who was holding Ty Lee's hands behind her back, though, didn't seem to have any regard for the rules; and a rather frightened-looking volunteer, in a maroon shirt with the Prospect Park Zoo label on the breast, who was supposed to tell people to stay on the path, had declined to correct him. The large scorch mark on the tree the volunteer was cowering against may have had something to do with that.

Ty Lee was struggling like a wildcat, but she wasn't in a very good position, with both her hands being held in one of his and his knee in the small of her back. He had his other hand clamped over her mouth, presumably to stifle a scream like the one that had alerted us earlier. As for the man himself, I wasn't sure at first what to make of him: faintly Asian, I thought, with brownish hair and brown eyes. When he saw us, he scowled, swore, and tossed Ty Lee aside. She should have lost her balance, but this is Ty Lee we're talking about, circus freak extraordinaire; she managed to turn the fall into a neat somersault, right herself, and pirouette in the direction of her attacker. He took one step backwards, into what I didn't recognize as a bending stance until a sphere of flame leapt from his flattened palm.

A gust of wind intercepted the flame halfway, knocking it off course as Ty Lee dove to the side, dropping on her hands to whip her legs out at the man's ankles. He stumbled backwards, just avoiding her, and moved again in swift, efficient firebending forms. The grass caught in a circle around him; a small grey animal, like a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo, hopped out of one of the bushes, dragging a singed tail.

"Careful of the wallabies!" shouted the volunteer, still cowering against the tree.

Katara reached into her tote bag and pulled free a Poland Spring water bottle, knocking off the cap and pulling loose the water within to coil in an uneven sphere around her hand. Sokka bent to grab a stick. Ty Lee came flying through the flames as though thrown, and landed on the ground, but when she rose, she looked more angry than injured. "Give me an opening," she growled.

"On it," said Katara. "Toph!"

The earthbender moved swiftly and precisely, wrenching a clod of earth from the wallaby meadow. A kangaroo got quickly out of the way. "Go," she directed, hurling it forward. Katara spun, stretching the water so it drenched the packed earth; Toph moved both hands down in a chopping motion, and the dirt landed heavily on the flames, smothering a portion of them.

"Ty Lee!" shouted Sokka, cupping his hands. She leaped, planting one foot in his palms, and he flung her forward so she dove through the opening, landed next to the firebender within, and before he could move, jabbed her fingers into some key nerve endings.

Zuko, directing his attention at the fire, drew his arms down hard, and the flames fell in response, easily quelled now that the other firebender couldn't maintain them. A downdraft of wind from Aang's quarter knocked out any remaining sparks. The firebender attempted a form, looked confused when it didn't work, and still looked confused when Ty Lee's hand blurred again, knocking him bonelessly to the ground, slumped against one of the thin trees that studded the enclosure.

He snarled at us. "You won't get anything other than name, rank, and serial number."

On the other side of the path, the volunteer and all the wallabies and kangaroos were huddled against a somewhat larger tree; Katara, still bending water around her hand, went to tend to them. Uninterested in the marsupials and the frightened zoo worker, I ambled over to the firebender.

"You're Fire Nation infantry, aren't you?" demanded Zuko.

"Private Ramakei," answered the man, followed by some incomprehensible jumble that probably included his squadron and division or something.

Zuko stood over him, scowling; a brief wind ruffled his dark hair, exposing his scar. "Do you know who I am?"

Absently, I picked up one of the woodchips padding the path. This one was long and sharp; I turned it over in my hand, testing the heft.

The Fire Nation soldier laughed harshly. I wouldn't laugh in that situation, but maybe that's just me. "You're Princess Azula's exiled traitor of a brother," he scoffed. "The useless one."

I acted without thinking, taking the wood chip between two fingers and whirling towards the prisoner as though intending to stab him; the pointed tip of the stick ended up about half an inch from his ear. "You insult Zuko again and I nail you to a tree," I informed him, matter-of-factly.

Fangirl moment, I guess.

Aang's hand touched my arm, moving the almost-lethal wood chip away from Ramakei's head. "Calm down. Look, you're one of Azula's soldiers? Then she must have told you the only way to get back is to use the Amulet, right?"

The firebender nodded defiantly.

"Well, then, did she tell you I'm the only one who _can_ use the Amulet?" Aang pushed me, gently but firmly, the rest of the way out of the way, so he was standing in front of the prone soldier.

He shook his head.

Aang frowned, readjusted, and continued. "Well, it's true. As you can probably tell, I'm the Avatar, and I'm also the only airbender in this part of the universe. The Amulet can only be activated by a very complicated bending that involves all four elements. So even after we go up to the Bronx and activate the Amulet, I'm your only chance to get home. Wouldn't it be better if we all worked together for now?"

The firebender looked like he would have taken Aang's head off if he could move anything below his neck. "I'm loyal to the Princess Azula, _Avatar_," he spat.

Zuko sighed. "Azula obviously sent him to spy on us, and she wouldn't have used a spy who would even think about betraying her. It's hopeless."

Sokka rubbed his hands together and smiled evilly enough to make the firebender cringe away from him slightly. "Oh, I wouldn't say hopeless…"

"We'll leave him here," said Aang, suddenly and decisively. "Come on. Katara, are you done?"

Katara stood up from amongst a group of kangaroos and wallabies; the marsupials scattered, revealing the volunteer had passed out against the tree. "Yeah. I don't know why I can't get him to wake up, though, there's nothing wrong with him."

The volunteer cracked one eye open, noticed we were still around, and immediately closed it again, feigning unconsciousness.

"Toph," said Aang. "I don't want him following us any further."

"Roger that," said the earthbender, and lifted her arms. The dirt on the ground around Ramakei rose, wrapping around him like a cocoon, leaving only his head exposed.

"Now," said Aang firmly. "Azula probably sent you to spy on us. Was there anyone else with you?"

The soldier said nothing. Aang glared at him; Sokka did that grinning-evilly-and-rubbing-his-hands-together thing again. I spun my woodchip between my fingers.

"No," he said at last.

"Sounded like the truth," said Toph, scuffing her foot against the dirt.

"Okay. We're done here," said Aang, stomping off down the trail. We all followed.

"You're all doomed!" the firenation soldier shouted after us. "I don't believe you! When the Princess gets her hands on you…"

Toph, who was bringing up the rear, spun into an earthbending form. The dirt cocooning Rokei rose a little further, blocking his mouth. "Oh, shut up," she said, and we all walked out of the wallaby enclosure.

"Are you sure you want to leave him there?" asked Sokka as the gate clanked shut behind us. "He probably knows where we're going. If Azula finds him, she could ambush us. Which, may I remind you, would not be fun."

"Actually, I'm counting on it," said Aang. "Like the Kraken said, we can't leave anyone behind in this world. This way, we'll know where Azula is when we need her."

Sokka considered that for a moment. "You. Are more devious then you look."

It was getting dark now, and as we walked into the building at the end of the Discovery Trail, an announcement that the zoo would be closing within the next ten minutes blared over the loudspeakers. "I don't think you want to go up to the Bronx tonight," I suggested.

"No," Aang agreed.

"So where should we stay?" asked Ty Lee.

"You're with me," I reminded her. "You're my cousin, remember? I can probably sneak in one or two more people, but my apartment just isn't very big. And my parents can't know."

"I live right around here," said Sokka airily. "Well, you know, Sean."

"Won't you need permission from your parents?" asked Toph.

Sokka's face went momentarily dark, and I sensed Sean might have had parental issues, but he wasn't one to dwell on things like that; when he answered, it was lightly. "Nah, Dad won't mind."


	11. Of Perceptions and Parents

_I was asked last time I posted this what was going on at Sean's apartment during this chapter, since the narrative focuses on Liz. _

_I came up with this (you may have to remove some spaces): http: / / img. photobucket. com/albums/v214/Weyrgirl/sleepover. jpg_

_Still don't own Avatar and probably never will. Also don't own NYC, but I'm working on that one..._

~_Taidine_

Chapter Eleven : Of Perceptions and Parents

Sean, apparently, lived in my building. As I was getting closer to home I began to suspect this, and when he stopped outside the tall brick apartment, I just kind of goggled. This was stretching credibility to the limits. Unless the portal deliberately gave people identities that put them close together, so they would find each other… If it hadn't been for me, though, how would Sokka and Ty Lee have been tied to the rest of them?

Maybe it was all my own delusion. That, although I had chosen to ignore it, was the most logical explanation, but if I decided to act on that assumption, I would have to betray the Gaang and go back to my humdrum, moderately-wealthy-urban-honors-student life, which was just boring. So I promised myself when this was all over, I would take a break from _Avatar_ and spend some time examining my sanity, then buzzed us in to the building.

"I'll get the elevator," said Toph, walking quickly across the lobby and hitting the 'up' button.

"I'll stay with Liz," Zuko volunteered.

Huh? Didn't he hate me?

"Okay," said Sokka. "I can fit everyone else. Sorry, Katara, you might have to sleep on the floor."

"Figures."

The elevator came, and Sokka, Toph, Katara, and Aang piled in. "Meet you down here tomorrow morning," said Aang to Zuko and me. "As early as possible."

At the last moment, Ty Lee took a look at Zuko and jumped into the elevator as well. "Meet you upstairs," she told me, waving. The elevator doors closed.

I waited a moment, then hit the 'up' button again and turned to Zuko. His expression was carefully neutral, his golden eyes narrow. "What's this about?" I asked him.

The doors binged open, and we stepped inside. "Fifth floor," I added, but he hit the button for the fourteenth, the highest floor in the building.

"We need to talk," he said hoarsely.

"Are you going to explain why you have a problem with me?" My inner fangirl was screaming something about being alone in an elevator with Zuko, but my voice was steady.

"I… don't have a problem with you," he said. Well, that was nice; I waited in silence for him to continue. "I was wondering – at the kangaroo place. On the boat."

He stopped, gathering his thoughts again. I tried to figure out where he was going with this.

"You just remind me so much of-" he tried again hurriedly, as if to get it out before he thought better of it.

The elevator hit the top floor, and the doors went 'bing' again and opened; he hit the 'doors close' button, then the 'five' on the panel above it, and took a deep breath.

"This had better work," he told the elevator doors as they closed. Then he turned to me (still rather baffled), and took my face in his hands, and kissed me.

Confession – I have never been kissed before. I have never had a boyfriend. I have never particularly wanted one, either boyfriend or kiss. I mean, tongue wrestling. Ew. But this was somehow different. Zuko just touched his lips to mine, gentle, almost as though he were trying to give me something precious – a breath, a piece of soul, a fragment of warmth that lodged itself deep inside me – through the contact. Flower petal light, like cobwebs, like…

He released me. I opened my eyes, expecting to see the ceiling of my room; it was that much like a dream. But he was still there, his golden eyes wide and vulnerable, with a kind of hopeful longing that made my heart ache. My brain kicked into gear, trying to figure out _what _it was he was expecting. But there was only one person he looked at with that kind of expression.

_Mai, _I thought.

Of course. A kiss had jolted Sokka; Zuko must have thought the same might be effective in bringing out his girlfriend. Was I really that much like Mai? It was at once rewarding and a little disturbing – and infinitely tempting. I was sure if I wanted to, I could do a passable imitation of Mai; I knew her voice and mannerisms well enough from the show. Right now, I could say his name with just the right inflection of mingled exasperation and affection, and I knew he would believe me. He might even kiss me again.

But how long could I keep it up? As soon as there was a battle, I'd be found out. I wasn't Mai – if that hadn't jolted me, nothing would – and for Zuko's sake, I wouldn't lie.

"I'm sorry," I said earnestly. The doors of the elevator opened, and I turned quickly so I didn't have to see his expression crumple.

Ty Lee was standing in front of the door to my apartment. "What took you so long?" she asked slyly.

"Someone jerk's moving in on the second floor. Decided to take the passenger elevator," I lied adeptly. "Why are you out here?" I felt Zuko come up behind me, but didn't acknowledge him

"I'm scared of your parents," she admitted, putting a finger to her lips. "There's a bad feeling coming from in there. Shh. What time is it?"

I reached into my pocket for my cell phone. Two pieces of crumpled plastic casing met my fingers; with a surge of dread, I pulled them free. The phone was snapped clean in half, the display quite dead; I must have fallen on it when I jumped off the ferry and hit Katara's ice. Lovely. So my parents had probably been calling me to check in for hours. "Stay out here," I told Zuko, still unwilling to look at him. "I'll let you in when it's safe."

I opened the door. "Hello?"

My mother came flying at me like a Fury. "Do you know what time it is?!" she screeched.

"No…" I admitted, but that had apparently been a rhetorical question.

"Eight o'clock!" There had been subway traffic on the way back. "I've been calling you since four! Why didn't you pick up? _What were you thinking,_ Elizabeth Rever?"

My father appeared behind her, cradling the house phone to his chest; when he saw me, he lifted it up and murmured something into the earpiece. He didn't join Mom in shouting at me, but did look disappointed.

"My cell phone broke," I said. Ty Lee cowered behind me.

"Don't tell me your friends don't have cell phones you could have used!" Mom shouted. "And your cousin! And! I can't even talk to you right now!" She headed for her room.

My dad hung up the phone and looked at me very seriously. "She's been like that for hours," he said gravely. "You do understand why, right?"

Well, there was nothing for it. Father sat me down and gave me a long lecture on why I shouldn't do irresponsible things like this. I nodded penitently. He told me I was essentially on house arrest tomorrow. I bit my lip and nodded penitently again. He told me dinner was on the stove, and he had an early meeting, so he was going to bed now, but if Mom found out I had stayed up late, she would probably impound me until I was eighteen and it became illegal. I nodded penitently. He finally left.

I assumed that by now, Zuko had probably gone upstairs to join the rest of the Gaang at Sokka's apartment; after all, now that he knew I wasn't Mai, he couldn't possibly want anything with me. So when Dad left, I walked into the kitchen to heat up dinner for me and Ty Lee.

"Aren't you going to let Zuzu in?" she asked innocently.

"He's not there," I muttered. If I was grounded, how was I going to help the Avatar crew find the right place in the Bronx? I had been thinking about it on the train, and I was pretty sure that by 'the second train,' the Kraken meant the two train, but I hadn't had a chance to mention it. Oh well; they had Sokka now, he could Google it.

"Yes he is," she said, peering through the peephole, one eye squinted shut.

I dropped the plate of chicken, rice and peas I had been holding, all but ran across the living room, and jerked open the door. "Ow," said Ty Lee, not quite pulling her head back fast enough to avoid the swinging portal.

Zuko was standing outside, looking as though he didn't know quite what to do with himself. "Um..." he looked over his shoulder at the wall behind him, sheepish. "I don't know what apartment the rest of them are in."

"Do you want to stay here?" I asked bluntly.

"Yeah… I'm not used to big slumber parties."

I stepped aside, inviting him in with a slightly extended hand.

We ate dinner silently, my dad's cooking – he's quite good when he puts his mind to it. Ty Lee went up to the guest room where she's been staying, and Zuko crashed on one of the couches in the living room. I cleaned up the kitchen, unpacked my bag, then repacked it, brushed out my hair; I was reluctant to pass the door to my parent's room. More than that, I was afraid to leave Zuko. I was worried… okay, I don't know exactly what I was worried about, but he looked so peaceful and helpless sleeping. I felt strangely protective.

So I kind of fell asleep on the other living room couch.

I woke to an inarticulate scream from my mother.

Groggily, I lifted my head off the cushion of the couch, thinking in a dull, sleep fogged way: why am I in the living room? Who's that on the other couch? Why is my mom so upset?

"What is going on here! Elizabeth! … Explain yourself!" she demanded.

Zuko shot bolt upright, a flame springing into being above his open palm. Okay, my mom was inconvenient at the moment and vexingly overprotective, but I didn't want her to get toasted; I lurched to my feet and got between them. "Mom, it's just Zuko."

Not brilliant, but keep in mind I had just woken up. Some part of my brain that was still dreaming thought somehow this would be okay.

"I'll… just leave then…" said Zuko, flushing red, and made for the door.

"No, you…" My mom sounded strangled. Zuko broke into a run and managed to make it out the apartment door, so after she took two furious steps after him, she realized that wasn't going to work and rounded on me. "Is _that_ who you spent the day with? I can't believe you would do this, Elizabeth. I just… just can't. How long have you been seeing him? What else haven't you told me?"

Ah. My parents have a pretty strict 'no boyfriends until you're eighteen' policy, which seems downright ridiculous to me and any of my peers I've ever told it to, but that did explain why she was foaming at the mouth. It was one thing to come home late; it was another to bring a stranger into the house; but the idea that he might be a boyfriend must have magnified the offense a hundredfold. _At least we weren't on the same couch, _I thought with a streak of malevolence.

"He's not my boyfriend, Mom," I said. I wondered if she picked up the faint trace of regret in my voice. Probably not.

"That's a moot point. How did you think it was okay to invite someone over without asking me, without me even _knowing _the person? He could have…"

I looked away from her withering stare; Ty Lee was padding down the hallway. "Where's Zuzu?" she asked innocently.

"Elizabeth!" my mother called. I looked back at her. "Did you say _Zuko_?"

Oh dear. Me talking about _Avatar_ to the family was about to come back and bite me, hard. "No," I said, straightfaced. "It's Zen. From school."

My mother looked worried. "Sometimes I worry about you, Liz. You just live in this… fantasy world." She cupped my chin with her hand. "Is there something you need to talk to me about?"

"No," I said flatly.

"Would you like to explain why you invited someone from school to spend the night without asking?"

"No."

Mom's expression hardened. "You're grounded, Liz. You'll go to your room and stay there until Monday. No phone, no computer. Until you come up with a very good explanation."

I stood, turned, and walked down the hall to my room. Ty Lee and my mother watched me go; the latter took advantage of the former's distraction, and slipped out the door.

I slammed the door to my bedroom shut behind me, petty revenge, and took a seat at the edge of my bed. Looked like that was the end of my adventures with the Gaang.

Well, it had been fun while it lasted.

I closed my eyes.

_Tap. Tap._

That was an annoying sound.

_Taptap. Tap._

Like rain.

_Tap. Tap. _

Or rocks being thrown against my window.

_Crash!_

"Oops," said a small voice from without.


	12. Of Mosaics and Melee

_Hm. I thought I had finished this. But on the contrary, three chapters remain. _

_Oops._

~_Taidine_

Chapter Twelve : Of Mosaics and Melee

Needless to say, I leapt out of my bed like the top of a soda bottle someone had added Mentos to. My window, which was fortunately over to one side of the room and not directly above my bed, had a beautiful spiderweb crack spreading across it; an irregular shape in the middle had fallen out. A good-sized chunk of concrete was lying on the floor, among smaller fragments of glass. I walked over the mess – I had gone to sleep without even removing my shoes last night, so the glass merely crunched underfoot – and stuck my head through the opening.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Ty Lee, and Toph, still in an earthbending form with one arm raised as if in a throwing motion, were clustered on the sidewalk. "Sorry," Toph called, relaxing into a more normal stance.

"What are you all doing here?" I drawled. "Don't you have an amulet to quicken or something?"

"We… kind of don't know where to go," Sokka admitted.

"Ty Lee told us you weren't allowed out," Katara called. "But it didn't seem fair to leave you behind."

I looked at Zuko, the original cause of my problems; he had the grace to look embarrassed.

"If you jump, I'm pretty sure I can get you down," Aang offered.

"So?" Ty Lee urged eagerly. "Come on!"

Wow. I felt… happy, I guess, but a different sort of happy then the one that you feel when you're with a group of acquaintances, laughing at bad jokes; a kind of happiness that ran deeper. That they had gone out of their way to invite me on the quest… sure, I had been helpful, but I had never even dared hope to be more than that.

They were all looking at me, and I realized I had let the silence stretch. "Let me get my bag."

It's not fun jumping out of a window on the fifth story. I procrastinated longer then I should have. I wrote my parents a cryptic note, promising them I was all right, I might be away for a while, and when I returned, I was prepared to face grounding for the rest of my natural life, but it was very important I do this now. I checked my bag, tossed in some more pens and a long, sharp fragment of window glass that seemed like it might come in handy. I swept the glass into a pile and opened the window, and looked out at the dizzying drop. Trust me, from the top of it, five stories is dizzying.

"We don't have all day," Zuko growled suddenly, impatiently.

"I'm coming," I replied tersely, swung my legs over the ledge, and dropped.

For a second I was freefalling, then Aang got his act together; a stiff updraft caught me, wind blowing so hard it was almost solid. I tilted nearly horizontal, spreading my arms to increase my surface area, my hair streaming behind me and my eyes tearing. It was probably not very graceful or impressive from without; I landed on the pavement on my stomach, hard enough to knock the wind out of me, but not hard enough to kill me, which, all told, is the fate I should have expected. One point for me not imagining this whole thing – if I had jumped out of this window and airbending were a figment of my imagination, I wouldn't be alive to question my sanity. I picked myself up.

"We want to take the two train into the Bronx," I said, brushing off my pants. "I'm not exactly sure where in the Bronx we want to go, but I do happen to know most of the train stations along that line are decorated with mosaics and similar, as a way to employ artists, so keep an eye out for glass."

"You know, she could have told us that without jumping out the window," Sokka pointed out to Aang.

"I want to come," I assured him.

We trudged up the sidewalk towards the subway station, filling me in on their plan. "We can't leave without everyone who came over," Katara began. "So all of us, Azula, her troops, and Mai have to be there when Aang uses the Amulet to open a portal back to our world."

"We're pretty sure Azula will beat us to the place we have to go to quicken the Amulet," Sokka chimed in. "We don't know if we can beat her in a fair fight, though, so our best bet is to do whatever we need to do with the magical shiny stones and scamper."

"I'll be covering the escape," Toph said. "I'll allow myself to be captured, because there's pretty much no way she can hold me for long. I can let slip that Aang's going to try and open a portal tomorrow in Strawberry Fields, Central Park."

"I liked the name," sighed Ty Lee. "It sounds so… happy."

"That gives us slightly over twenty-four hours to look for Mai," said Zuko. "Everyone else has been either in or around the school, or in or around your apartment building, so we'll split up and cover both areas."

"Yeah, we just need to look for a girl who spends all her time sulking in corners," said Sokka.

We had to make a couple of train transfers to get up to Forty Second Street, Times Square, from which we could catch a two train. The two train actually makes for quite a lovely, scenic ride. It goes uptown through a lot of old Manhattan stations, most decorated with intricate mosaics that relate somehow to the district the station is located in, then passes into the Bronx. Presently, it rises above ground, and you can see the buildings of the borough trucking by on either side. Uptown we traveled, all busily looking out the windows at the scenery.

Pelham Parkway was the station at which I spotted the stained glass – flowers and old photographs set into the stone half-walls to either side of the platform, glowing with the pale light of the slightly cloudy sky that was visible above.

"This has to be it," I said, turning to Aang.

"Gee, what gave that away – the uniforms?" asked Sokka.

I looked out the window again, and this time really looked, adjusting my mind to have no expectations. Clustered at the center of the platform was a squadron of Fire Nation troops, grim faced and outfitted in red.

Well, well. Azula had beaten us here.

"Okay, plan stands," said Sokka. "We're on one of the first cars, so they shouldn't notice us right away. Aang and Katara will study the windows. The rest of us can create a distraction."

The subway doors opened, and there was no more time for planning. There ware three sets of doors in each subway car; Aang and Katara shoved their way through the commuters to go out through the front one in our car, while the rest of us exited through the more rearward pair. We moved over to the platform wall, all keeping a wary eye on Azula's troops.

I peered at the closest window, a stained glass of a curling purple flower. Not helpful at all. I sidled down the wall to investigate the next one. Orange flowers, with many petals. Very pretty, I'm sure. I glanced at the Fire Nation squadron. They hadn't noticed us yet.

The wind blew away a cloud as I was studying the third window, a stained glass image of small white flowers tucked among spade-shaped leaves, and a sudden beam of sunlight made the image explode with color and light; I had to look away from the brilliance. Several windows down the platform, I heard someone cry out, and turned to see Aang staring into the illuminated window; then he turned slowly, to where the light filtering through the glass made a colored puddle on the floor.

Myself, Zuko, Ty Lee, and Sokka moved as a group towards the Avatar and Katara; Toph followed us slowly, dragging her feet. "What is it?" Zuko demanded as we drew close.

"The windows…" said Aang. "Look at the way the colors wind up on the floor. It's telling you how to put together the Amulet. Look, they're bending patterns…" He gestured with one hand, following the curves and swirls of purple and blue that the iris cast on the floor.

Toph, who was kind of staring out at the railroad tracks – stained glass held no attractions for her – went "Um," as if she were trying to get someone's attention.

"Come on, we have to start over there," said Aang, pointing to the very front of the platform.

"Um," said Toph again. "Guys, Azula kind of isn't with the rest of the Fire Nation grunts."

Aang was already moving for the frontmost window, Katara following in his wake.

"So where is she?" Sokka asked in cockeyed confusion.

"I can't feel her…" said Toph, looking down at her feet.

Compelled by some instinct, I looked up.

She dropped from the roof, a spiky silhouette in a Fire Nation uniform, bare-headed except for her topknot where her troops wore helmets, and landed in front of us, spiderlike. "Hello," she smirked.

Zuko was already in motion, throwing fire; red flame met blue, and he was tossed back. She shot out her other hand, an arc of flame carving towards us; Toph moved swiftly, and a slab of concrete tore free, meeting the fire. Blue flickers curled around the edges of the concrete, then died. I reached into my bag, hand closing around the jagged glass; Sokka cast about for a weapon. Problem was, we were mostly not benders, and although Sokka and Ty Lee could usually hold their own in a fight, I think this is a case where fighting fire with fire would be really effective.

I looked over my shoulder; Zuko was picking himself up, but more depressingly, the entire Fire Nation squad was racing down the platform towards us. Toph let her concrete block drop, lifted one arm and extended the other, taking a step forward: the slab split into a pair of oblongs, and she flung the first towards Azula.

Blue fire met concrete in a blaze of heat and light, and Azula jumped, landing neatly on the square, then again, this time meeting ground directly in front of Toph. The earthbender directed the stone around and ducked; Azula caught on just in time and dropped into a crouch as the block of concrete whizzed by over her head.

The rest of the Fire Nation squad was right behind us now. Ty Lee faced them in a martial arts stance and charged forward, fingers a blur, but she couldn't take them all; Sokka, although he did his best to improvise with his backpack, was not much of an unarmed fighter. Zuko was back on his feet, bending great whips of flame; two of the soldiers closed on him in a great cloud of red and gold, fire meeting fire.

I took a page from Sokka's book and began laying about with my bag, futilely, getting momentarily caught up in my own battle. The soldier I was taking on dodged around the tote, then reached out one hand and caught it (I guess, now that I thought of it, it wasn't even very heavy, holding only maps, money, etc). With the other hand he caught my wrist, and soon I was quite firmly restrained.

I looked around. Zuko and Toph had their arms pinned behind their backs, and Sokka and Ty Lee were being held equally helpless. More than a few Fire Nation troops were prone on the floor, but there had been more of them then I had first thought; and Azula was standing in front of us, utterly unharmed, gloating. "My goodness, that was even easier then I had anticipated. This world does weaken benders, doesn't it?"

That was when a fierce gust of wind sliced through the air behind her and sent her sprawling to her knees, revealing Aang and Katara in bending stances. "You're not going to stop me from putting the Amulet together, Azula!" Aang declared.

The Princess of the Fire Nation rose to her feet, her hair slightly disarrayed, still grinning. "I never intended to," she said. "I know it's the only way home, and although this world has certain… advantages… I certainly don't want to stay. Actually, I'm going to help you by removing certain…" Her eyes, several shades darker then Zuko's but still frighteningly similar, skimmed over us. "Distractions."

I heard the rumble of an approaching train.

"Meet us at the Winter Garden in Battery Park City, ready to open a portal, and no one will get hurt," said Azula, as the train pulled up beside her. The doors opened and commuters streamed out. "Much," she added, her smile broadening, and stepped inside. Her squad followed, pulling us and their fallen comrades along with them, and the train pulled out. I glimpsed Aang and Katara standing dumbly on the platform we passed, picking up speed.


	13. Of Rescue and Revelations

_Finishing this. Today. Avatar still isn't mine, naturally._

_~Taidine_

Chapter Thirteen: Of Rescues and Revelations

"_Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be."_ – Ophelia

K_atara and Aang watched in shock as the train drove off with their entire group, leaving them all but alone on the platform. "What… what do we do now?" Katara asked tremulously. "Should we go after them?"_

"_We activate the Amulet," said Aang. "I know Azula can't be trusted, but I don't think she'll hurt anyone – not until she gets what she wants."_

_He looked down at the first stained glass reflection on the concrete, bit his tongue, and swirled his hand delicately. A filament of air threaded along the colored light, following a shape that had been tiny white flowers in the window, but spread and smeared on the ground into elegant spirals._

"_Hold these." He placed the fragments of the Amulet on Katara's palm, red, green, yellow, and blue, and began to walk, down to the next window, the shaped air rising and following him. "Water," he said, and Katara opened another Poland Spring bottle._

_Down the platform they walked, commuters moving dazedly out of their way. A whip of fire, a stream of pebbles and dust motes, all wound and braided together in constant motion. Aang brought it up, like some kind of basket woven from the elements, twining around the fragments, following the instructions in the colored shadows cast by the stained glass._

_Katara looked up worriedly – the clouds were returning, the window of sun shrinking. Soon the shadows and colors would disappear, the instructions becoming unreadable. But they were nearly to the end of the platform now…_

_Aang brought his hands together and the twisting elemental strands pulled like strings into a knot, tightening around the fragments. There was a burst of brilliant light, and a crash; the final window shattered, the lead soldering that had held the panes in place flying out along the lines laid down by Aang's bending, twisting, shaping itself into an intricate setting. When the light died down, the sun had gone behind a cloud; but glowing faintly in Katara's palm was a gemstone of swirling, marbled colors, bound by a lacework of lead. _

"_Nice," said Katara, and held it out for him. "Now what?"_

"_Now?" said Aang, looking down the train tracks. "Now we bring everyone home."_

_

* * *

I don't know what the commuters on the train saw. Obviously not Fire Nation troops in full uniform, with a couple of struggling teenagers in custody, but whatever it was, they gave us a wide berth; when we came to the stop after Pelham, the car more or less emptied out. We all got seats, which is pretty amazing on a car in the middle of the two train, even on a Sunday morning. Of course, it's a little hard to enjoy a seat if you're being held down on it by a burly Fire Nation soldier, smelling eye-smartingly of smoke and char and the leather of his armor. Not fair. When Zuko smelled like smoke and char from firebending, it was a __good_ smell.

We got off at the next stop and transferred back downtown; we got that car all to ourselves as well. Presently, the shock began to wear off.

It was Zuko who spoke first. "So that's it? You're just going to go back and leave us stranded here?"

"Mm, tempting," said Azula. She was the only one standing, holding the pole in the center of the car with one long-nailed hand. "But no. I want everyone to get home safely, believe it or not."

"Wait, you're a good guy now too?" asked Sokka in frank disbelief.

"Not as you're using the term," said Azula. "But I did my homework. Leaving anyone behind would be very, very bad. I don't want anything to happen to the universe – you can't rule without a kingdom now, can you?"

"But you _don't_ have everyone," said Zuko triumphantly. "You can't do anything until you find Mai."

Azula looked heavenward in exasperation. "Zuzu, your girlfriend is right next to you."

I almost laughed. Almost. But obviously if people have been this stubborn in mistaking me for Mai, you must have guessed I don't show much emotion. "We've been through this. I'm not Mai."

"You sound so sure," said Azula, smirking and leaning in close. "But you're wrong." She straightened. "Ty Lee!"

"Mmhmm?" went the acrobat.

"Before Mai went through the portal, did she try to use the spirit chant on the walls?"

"Mmhmm," Ty Lee answered, nodding.

"All right, Zuzu, I'll explain. Do try to keep up. There was writing on the walls of the portal cavern. Instructions. If you follow them correctly you cross over without creating a new identity. You know exactly who you are, no questions. But." She held up one beautifully manicured finger. "They're _very complicated_ instructions. And if you follow them wrong…" She brought the finger down, placing the tip under my chin so I had to lift my head. "Well, let's just say dear Mai is buried so deep she might not even remember who she is when we get back to our corner of reality."

I drew a short, sharp breath, and Azula released me, grinning at the way Zuko's face went blank. I shook my head. No, she was lying, or mistaken. I wasn't Mai, he couldn't lose hope.

We got off the train at Rector Street.

This is the last geography lesson, and it isn't much of one. Battery Park City is the southern tip of Manhattan Island. Its most notable features are the ferry terminal, which we have visited already, and the rather expensive apartments (some may argue Battery Park and the World Trade Center memorial should be included in this list; I say the former is not impressive enough to be worth mentioning and the latter is not, in fact, within BPC). The Winter Garden is an interesting but not especially noteable location within BPC; it is one of those large, indoor gatherings of shops which is not quite a mall; it's almost all window, and the main foyer in particular is really a greenhouse, with palm trees grown from the floor. Benches are scattered throughout, and at the end opposite the large glass doors, a half-circle of stairs rises like an ancient amphitheater. Halls spring off to either side on the main floor and the floor above, if you walk up the myriad stairs. It had a certain roman arena feel to it, and would be an impressive place to open a portal, I could imagine. That was probably why Azula chose it.

When Azula led her squad in, the people on the benches cleared out. Again, I don't know what they saw, but within minutes the main floor was silent, empty, an abandoned greenhouse except for Azula, her troops, and us captives. She had us in a group behind her, each with our very own guard, on the steps; the remainder of the soldiers spread out around the room. And we waited.

We didn't have to wait long. We saw Aang and Katara before they saw us, of course, through the glass front of the building; they walked up, warily, with grave decorum, to the doors, and entered cautiously. In one hand, Aang held something bright and shiny; the Amulet, I assumed. Azula gave it a covetous glance.

"Okay, Azula, we brought the Amulet," said Aang. "Now let my friends go."

"Hm. No. Open the portal first," Azula responded. "We go through on my terms."

Aang looked momentarily conflicted, then nodded, and placed the Amulet down in the center of the room, between the palm trees, on the marble floor tiles. It was brilliantly colored, and shone like some poisonous insect.

Azula turned to the Fire Nation soldiers holding us and instructed them in a voice to low to carry out to Aang and Katara: "As soon as we get through, you can kill my useless brother. The others could still be useful. Or at least entertaining."

Her smirk seemed directed particularly at me. Had Azula always been sadistic as well as cruel? I should have been much more scared of her; she was going to drag me into a world I only knew about from television. She was threatening to kill people.

But mostly I was just mad. After all, the person she was threatening to kill was _Zuko_. And…

…_I love Zuko more then I fear you._

Mai's line. I know. But here's the peculiar thing: I was remembering, in an odd doubling, both watching it – and saying it.

I had been half expecting the real Mai to show up, kind of a _deus ex machina,_ smashing though the glass with her stilettos to save us all. After all, she was the only wildcard left. But quite suddenly I realized Azula, as so often happened, was correct.

Of course I'm Mai. I had been all along.

Aang closed his eyes and began working the Amulet to open the portal, using some of the most intricate bending I had ever seen. Earth, water, fire, air – how did he handle all of that at once? He was feeding them into the Amulet somehow, and I didn't want to stop him. We all wanted the portal open; we just needed to get through on our terms, not Azula's.

The grunt watching me still wasn't paying close attention; of course not. He wouldn't expect any resistance from a girl like Liz, someone with a demonstrable lack of combat skills. I dipped my hand into my tote, closing my fingers around the shard of glass I had picked up that morning. It was sharp and cold and heavy – badly balanced, but I could make it go where I wanted. I would only get one shot. My eyes flicked briefly over to Zuko, muscles tensed uselessly against his captor, but from a purely dispassionate angle, I didn't think he'd do the most good.

There was a great, ripping, roaring noise, a burst of wind and heat. I looked back to the center of the room, where, hanging above the amulet, was the shining sphere of the portal, casting a varicolored light over Aang, Katara, and Azula.

"Well done," said the Fire Nation princess. "Seize them." She said it very casually, flicking a finger at Aang and Katara. Several of the soldiers rushed forward.

Our captors were distracted by the drama below. Excellent. I yanked the shard of glass free of my tote and jammed it backwards into the man holding on to me. He cried out and let go; I dove forward before he could catch me again and hurled the glass shard at the soldier pinning Toph's arms behind her back. "Now, earthbender."

Aang and Katara must have been half-expecting Azula's treachery, because they moved quickly; he flung out his arms, sending a scythe of air to tumble the guards backwards, and she uncapped her plastic bottle and summoned a whip of water, tangling Azula's feet and momentarily distracting her. I saw faint blue sparks around the princess's hand – she had been calling lightning – but they fizzled out as she stumbled.

Toph wrenched her arms free as the glass knocked back her captor, and was instantly on the offensive; a single gesture cracked the marble tiles beneath the soldier who had been restraining her, dropping him into the basement of the Winter Garden. She lifted her hands and more tiles rose from the floor, spinning around her; she motioned quickly, and sent several flying outward like lethal Frisbees. Ty Lee did some odd flip, putting her captor in the path of one; another took out my guard, then shattered on the floor at my feet. Ah, more pointy objects. I snatched up the broken stone.

The firebenders were realizing what was going on now, flames springing to life in the air around me; I threaded through them, and there was Zuko, muscles tensed against the pair of soldiers holding onto him. I let fly with my chips of stone – they were really heinously balanced, and wound up whole inches from where I had meant them to be, but the soldiers flinched, and Zuko came free. I skidded to a stop in front of him.

"I can't believe I'm saving you again," I told him. "Let's not make this a habit."

"Mai?!" he exclaimed, golden eyes wide with an infectious, irresistible joy.

"Start bending," I advised, and ducked out of the way as another Fire Nation guard came up behind me, in stance. Zuko flung out his hand, and I felt the heat as flames roared past above my head, meeting and dissipating; then the soldier collapsed, revealing Ty Lee behind him. She grinned, waved, and cartwheeled off to make short work of the guard holding Sokka.

"Stay close," Zuko commanded; he was fighting defensively, blocking incoming washes of flame from the firebenders that surrounded us. I took a moment to look around; most of our party were doing the same, from Aang and Katara, barely fending Azula off, to Toph and Ty Lee, hiding behind hastily thrown up walls of floor tile. We couldn't hold out for too long – we were outnumbered, badly.

Then I saw Sokka, dodging a stream of fire, grabbing my tote bag (must have dropped it as I pulled free) and skidding down the stairs on it. Maybe Sean had been a skater. He came to a stop directly in front of the portal, and leaned down to snatch the Amulet off the floor.

"Aang! Heads up!" he called, and tossed it.

Azula turned, momentarily distracted, but the shining Amulet flew past, far above her head. Aang leapt into the air, and he must have been airbending, because the height he reached would have been physically impossible otherwise – lifted his arm – and snagged the artifact with one hand. "Everyone through the portal!" he shouted, and as he landed, holding the Amulet securely, Katara grabbed his arm and plunged into the swirling sphere.

Azula's furious expression was priceless. "After them!" she snarled. And exactly what happened after that I can't say, except it ended with all of us racing, tumbling, stampeding, falling into the manic colors of the portal.


	14. Of Returns and Reality

Chapter Fourteen : Of Returns and Reality

"_I think, therefore I am."_ – Descartes

Colors were all around me, weeping, bleeding. They ran into each other like watercolor paints on damp paper, rioting without order. Sheer anarchy. I had never liked bright colors much. Soothing greys are best, dark reds, blacks. The warm clear gold of Zuko's eyes. This was overwhelming, and painful, and wrong, an affront to nature and reality. We were in a rip, a rift, a wound. Floating among the colors.

It wasn't complete chaos. There were patterns. Shapes. Figures. All the people who had come through. Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka. The uniform, anonymous Fire Nation troops. Azula. Zuko. All part of the madness.

And one more, a great winged shape. It took me a moment to recognize it: the eagle from Columbus Circle. Only here it was a much larger bird, its wings casting a shadow in the sourceless light. Not an eagle. A Roc.

"The time for the Amulet has not come," it said.

As it got closer, it got smaller – that didn't seem right at all – until it was right in front of Aang, and barely any taller than the small airbender, who looked at the unforgiving, predatory bird and said, "What do you mean?"

"It is to be saved for an hour of dire need. You will not require its powers," said the Roc majestically.

"Hey," said Sokka. "He's got a pretty big job. He has to defeat the Fire Lord."

"And he's just a kid," Toph added condescendingly. "He's going to need all the help he can get."

"But he has you," said the Roc, bending its head. "The loyalty of those who would follow him to another world and back. And his own loyalty to them, to see them all safely home again. His is not the cause that the Amulet is meant to serve. Avatar." It turned to Aang, and seemed larger again, not because it grew, just because it was. "Yours is not the cause. If you take the Amulet now, another will suffer in the future; when the need of the world is greater, there will no way to meet it."

"Then…" Aang sighed. "Then I shouldn't take it."

Sokka's mouth dropped open. "You mean we just wasted a week on something we can't even _use_?"

"You have wasted no time," said the Roc gravely. "You may return to your world at whatever point you wish. Your memories of this will fade."

"Then… we'd better go back to when we found the carvings," said Aang.

"Can we go back to the eclipse and do that one over?" Toph asked curiously. "Because, frankly, it was a fiasco."

"Your memories will fade," the Roc repeated. "You will make the same mistakes, besides this journey."

"Then we want to go back to just before we found that room in the air temple," said Aang decisively.

Ty Lee frowned at me. "I guess that means we go back to prison," she grumped.

"Yeah." I hadn't thought of that.

Zuko touched my shoulder. "When this is all over…" he began.

"Don't get your hopes up," I told him. "You've been nothing but trouble." If the idiot didn't know I loved him by now, I wasn't going to make it easy.

"Return, then," said the Roc, and spread its great wings until they blotted out all the colors… all the light… and everything faded.

When I came to, I was indeed back in a Fire Nation prison.

You know the rest; the Firelord deposed, Zuko crowned, the good guys win, balance restored. Everyone cheers and goes home happy. None of the others who came to the other world seem to have any memory of it – but I do. I can't decide why, but I have moments when I still think I'm Liz, when I find myself wondering what's real.

The whole thing could have been a delusion, I guess. Me trying to escape from the present while languishing in a cell, having been betrayed – for whatever reason – by the only person I ever really cared about, and having betrayed one of my precious few friends.

Or it could have happened precisely as I put it down, me taking out a time share on some girl named Liz and only remembering the episode because I botched that spirit chant. I don't know what would have happened to Liz afterwards. Maybe she was left with an inexplicable gap in her memory, maybe she remembers it all clearly and wishes she could have come through the portal too. Maybe she didn't exist before I crossed over and maybe she doesn't exist, except in my mind, now that I'm back.

Or – here's a frightening thought – maybe I'm still Liz, and that's all there ever was. Maybe I went over the edge into a delusion induced by instability and an _Avatar_ obsession, and I'm sitting in a madhouse or a coma, and this is all in my head.

Tell you the truth, though –

I don't care.

– Fin –


End file.
